The 2025 Minnesota Vikings season has fallen off a cliff in recent weeks. One of the biggest reasons has been the offense's struggles this season. It starts with J.J. McCarthy under center because he has struggled as a quarterback in his first full season running the offense. It has been a rough season for McCarthy, and he said many of his struggles have stemmed from overthinking. After being cleared this week, the goal is to stop that.
When talking to the media on Thursday, McCarthy said that he is prone to overthinking in games, especially with his mechanics. He spoke with Kevin O'Connell and noted that the goal is to go out and execute and play ball. McCarthy said he is a natural overthinker, and he wanted to make the reps as perfect as possible.
“I would say a lot of the mentality has changed,” he said. “I was just so focused on doing every rep perfectly and making sure every little detail was crossed and checked off. Coach O’Connell and Coach McCown were talking to me about, ‘Hey, let’s worry about that stuff in the offseason. Go out there, play ball, just execute the play. That just frees up a lot of space mentally. “I’m definitely a natural overthinker, and it's not against them I need to do a better job of compartmentalizing those coaching points and realizing when it's game time.
“I’m definitely a natural overthinker, and it's not against them I need to do a better job of compartmentalizing those coaching points and realizing when it's game time.”
This season, McCarthy has played in six games and, for the most part, struggled in all six. He has 929 passing yards and six passing touchdowns compared to 10 interceptions. He also has a 54.1% completion percentage.
McCarthy has a chance to reverse some of his misfortune if he performs well during the rest of the season, but the way he has been playing does not offer much hope.
