As the Vikings celebrated their 3-0 start after a tough road win in Tampa with great defense and special teams play but offensive difficulties, the somewhat surprising news broke on Monday of J.J. McCarthy being traded to the New York Giants.

There’s a lot to unpack in Vikings Land early this week.

Reactions on the McCarthy trade

I don’t think it was wise to make this trade after three games this season unless there are big upgrades if McCarthy starts and has success (such as a second round pick if he becomes the Giants starter that goes to a first if he gets them to the playoffs in the next two years). If there isn’t a potential big upside in an upgraded pick, why not hang onto McCarthy this season as insurance in the event of injuries to Kyler Murray and/or Carson Wentz who both have had plenty of injuries in their NFL careers? If one or both get hurt, I think McCarthy is a much better option than Max Brosmer.

McCarthy is only 23 years old, has talent, needs to become more accurate, and has to stay healthy, which have obviously been problems. He may never pan out as a quality NFL QB but there are so many examples of young QBs who struggled early in their careers and became great players, such as Josh Allen, John Elway, and Troy Aikman.

Also, Murray and Wentz are on one-year deals and Murray was shaky against the Bucs. We’ll see how it turns out but it’s a risky move on a young QB who could develop into a good QB. Patience is too often not the case in today’s NFL with the pressure to produce immediately. It seems as if Kevin O’Connell had seen enough of J.J. to agree on making this trade.

Reactions to the Win Over the Bucs

1. This clearly was a win delivered more by the defense and special teams than the offense. The Vikings ran the ball okay against the Bucs’ fourth-ranked run defense with 78 yards on the ground. But the last-ranked passing game produced only 152 net yards (counting sack yardage on three sacks) with Murray completing only 15 of 29 with one TD and one interception.

Other than two early catches by Justin Jefferson (before he left with a minor ankle injury) and the two big plays to Jordan Addison on the second quarter TD drive (including a good decision by Murray to throw deep with single coverage on Addison on the 41-yard TD), Murray was otherwise generally shaky and looked uncomfortable, especially after Jefferson left with the ankle injury (that may not keep him out of Sunday’s game against the Dolphins).

Murray appeared to rush many of his throws resulting in inaccuracy and missed opportunities such as when he overthrew T.J. Hockenson and Addison on back-to-back plays early in the fourth quarter. But there were some good throws early to Jefferson and a good decision to throw deep on the 41-yard TD to Addison (who also should’ve caught another deep ball that Murray underthrew late in the second quarter).

I think the coaches need to get Murray more on the move with rollouts and bootlegs. At 5’10” it’s just tough for him to see over the big linemen as a pocket passer. Perhaps things will look better in the pocket as he gets more game action since this was his first full game in over a year. On rollouts he’ll also have the option to run but if he does then he has to get down quick or get out of bounds.

The 29-year-old Murray still has the speed and agility to be a run threat. Two years ago (the last season in which he played in every game), he rushed for 572 yards and five TDs. In his Pro Bowl season of 2020, he ran for 819 yards and 11 TDs.  

2. The Vikings didn’t run a play in the red zone and went 2 of 15 on third down (Aaron Jones picked up their only fourth down try but why were they running him so often into the middle of the Bucs D where Vita Vea is an elite nose tackle instead of concentrating on outside zone plays?).

3. On the defense that held the Bucs to 243 net yards and 16 points: they were all over Baker Mayfield (as was the case with Jordan Love and Caleb Williams) with six sacks (now league leaders with 14 sacks), 12 QB hits, drawing several holding calls, good coverage downfield, great run D (57 yards, 2.7 average per carry) and the usual red zone efficiency holding the Bucs to two field goals on two trips.

Eric Wilson had a great game (10 tackles, 1.5 sacks). So did Blake Cashman (10 tackles, one sack) and Kyle Van Noy (a great late camp pickup…1.5 sacks and five tackles). And there were the fourth quarter interceptions by Andrew Van Ginkel and Isaiah Rodgers. Brian Flores called another excellent, fearless game.

4. The special teams have been excellent this season except for a couple long kickoff returns allowed. Myles Price flashed his speed and moves on the 86-yard punt  return TD (with a key Jay Ward block).

Will Reichard may already be the best kicker in Vikings history. The 2025 all-pro now has made 26 straight field goals after converting from 54, 56 and 43 yards. The 56-yarder with 3:10 left was especially clutch as the Vikings were clinging to a one point lead and a miss would’ve given the Bucs great field position. Johnny Hekker also did a fine job stepping in for the injured Brett Thorson with a 46.5 yard punting average on a busy day with eight punts and he did a great job holding for Reichard.

5. Josh Oliver’s torn biceps is a big loss: there was good news on Jefferson’s ankle but bad news that their best blocking tight end and an underrated receiver in Oliver is likely out for the year. That puts the pressure on Gavin Bartholomew to step up at least until Ben Yurosek comes off the injured list in a few weeks.

6. Too many penalties: the officiating crew in Tampa has called the most penalties of any crew this season and they hit the Vikings with nine penalties for 95 yards (and the Bucs with eight for 81 yards). The Vikings had only three penalties in each of the first two games. So they’ll want to get back to that level in upcoming games.

7. Schedule opportunity: after navigating a challenging first three weeks, the opportunity is there for the Vikings to win their next three games as likely favorites—this Sunday at home against 0-3 Miami (probably the worst team in the league as they are in rebuilding mode) followed by at New Orleans (a dangerous but up-and-down 1-2 team) and then the bye before home vs. the 1-2 Colts. I like the Vikings’ chances to be 6-0 headed to Detroit on November 1.

Around the NFL Observations

1. In the NFC North, the Lions moved to 2-1 by beating the Jets 31-24. Jahmyr Gibbs scored three TDs (two rushing, one receiving). But the Lions pass defense remains a big problem as Geno Smith threw for 321 yards and three TDs. Detroit is at Carolina on Sunday night and the Panthers have the league’s top passing attack in yards per game (296).

The 1-2 Packers are in trouble on the offensive line after the Falcons handled them up front as the Vikings did in the opener. Green Bay is at Tampa Bay this Sunday. The NFL social media account shared the news that Baker Mayfield can’t go, writing, “Buccaneers QB Baker Mayfield (thumb) out at least three weeks, per HC Todd Bowles.”

The Bears come off their Monday night game against the Eagles with a Sunday home game against the Jets.

2. Other interesting results from Week 3: the Bills moved to 3-0 with a 24-16 win over the winless Chargers despite a minus four turnover ratio in the game. Seattle suffered its first loss by falling at Washington 33-31 with Marcus Mariota leading the Commanders and Sam Darnold returning to action and throwing four TD passes for the Seahawks but also two interceptions (including a costly Pick-6).

Denver rallied from a 16 point deficit to beat the now 1-2 Rams.

3. Six teams are unbeaten headed into Monday night’s Eagles at Bears game. They are the Vikings, 49ers, and Eagles in the NFC. In the AFC, it’s the Bills, Chiefs, and surprising Raiders led by Kirk Cousins (three TD passes in Sunday’s win at New Orleans).