Souhan: Watch these four Vikings as the games become meaningless

J.J. McCarthy compared playing in an NFL game to “getting kicked in the face by a donkey.”

Which is what it feels like to watch the Vikings this year. We need Guardian Caps for our corneas.

Having a bad season is one thing. Having a bad season that sours your best players on the organization would be catastrophic.

As the Vikings begin the out-of-contention portion of the schedule on Sunday against the Commanders, here are the most important Vikings to watch.

Is this season a disappointment or an existential threat? Watch these four for the answer.

He’s the Vikings’ second-best player and plays left tackle, a premium position. Like Justin Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw hasn’t complained publicly, but he has seemed frustrated much of this season.

While Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell has put a positive spin on Darrisaw’s recovery from knee surgery, he has regularly missed practices. When he has been listed as questionable, which he is again Sunday, he hasn’t looked happy while going through pregame workouts to determine whether he should play.

The Vikings can’t afford to have their offensive line problems exacerbated by a problematic relationship with Darrisaw.

If Dallas Turner becomes another first-round bust, the Vikings’ defense, built mostly with veteran free agents, will likely continue to get older, slower and more injury-prone, and their general manager may have trouble keeping his job.

If Turner continues his late-season surge, he could quickly become the team’s best and most important defender, at perhaps the second-most important position in the sport.

I’d like to see him improve at fighting through blocks and stopping the run, but there is no doubt that he has improved dramatically in the last month.

Thursday, he sounded thoughtful and optimistic, citing a conversation he had with veteran linebacker Eric Wilson.

Jefferson did not speak with reporters after the loss in Seattle, apparently to avoid saying something he would regret.

Thursday, at his regular weekly news conference, Jefferson was diplomatic.

That’s consistent with his demeanor since he entered the NFL in 2020. He can be blunt about wanting to play with a premier passer, but he is currently unwilling to criticize McCarthy, O’Connell or the organization.

You could hear Vikings executives exhaling in relief when Jefferson chose the high road. Now they need to get him the ball.

All J.J. McCarthy has to do over the next five weeks is keep Jefferson from asking for a trade, prove that the team shouldn’t bring in another quarterback this offseason to compete for the starting job, earn the trust of his teammates, and show that he’s capable of running some version of O’Connell’s offense.

McCarthy has played terribly.

Just remember this: He has played in six NFL games. If not for a breakdown on kickoff coverage against the Bears, he would be 3-1 against the NFC North, with a victory at Detroit and a sweep of the Bears, who are currently the No. 1 seed in the NFC. He would have won those three games in the division with clutch fourth-quarter plays.

If O’Connell is the coach we thought he was entering this season, he’ll fix McCarthy.