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Peyton, Eli Manning critique JJ McCarthy pick-six vs. Bears

ProfilePhotoby: Nick Geddes22 hours agoNickGeddesNews
JJ McCarthy
David Banks-Imagn Images

Monday night is J.J. McCarthy‘s first start since Jan. 8, 2024, the night he led Michigan to a 34-13 win over Washington in the College Football Playoff National Championship game. McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus, is under center for the Minnesota Vikings’ Week 1 road contest against the Chicago Bears.

There was a lot of anticipation to see how McCarthy would fare in his NFL debut. So far, McCarthy has struggled — the Vikings’ offense as a whole has struggled. McCarthy got his welcome to the NFL moment early in the third quarter when Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright picked him off and returned it 74 yards for six.

Peyton Manning and Eli Manning offered their critiques of what went wrong on the play. Peyton said it looked like a timing issue between two players who haven’t played with each other in the regular season.

“It’s a good concept versus cover 0,” Peyton said. “You’re going to have inside technique by the corners when it’s cover 0 because they’re protecting the middle of the field and they don’t have any help there from the safety. But we’ve got to get our depth at receiver, quarterback has to throw it on time. It just looked like it was a little bit off, which you would expect.

“They haven’t played together. [Justin] Jefferson missed some time in training camp. … Nothing like game reps, and nothing like regular season game reps. They’ll learn from that. There’s practice reps, there’s walkthrough reps, there’s live regular season game reps — that’s what we’re getting right there.”

JJ McCarthy struggling in NFL debut

It’s been a frustrating night for Minnesota’s offense, held out of the end zone for three quarters. McCarthy’s interception summed it up — a late throw to the sideline where nothing good happens, Eli said.

“You’re going to see an all-out blitz — something just looks off right there where you’re probably expecting a three and he’s throwing it without the hitch,” Eli said. “It’s still late, so I don’t know if that’s something where Justin Jefferson is one revolution short on his steps, where he’s supposed to take six steps and kind of takes four, but something’s off right there. When you’re throwing late to the sideline, bad things happen.”