On Aug. 13, as J.J. McCarthy and the rest of us learned that a promising start to his rookie year had been cut short by a season-ending meniscus injury, the Vikings QB posted on X: “Love you Viking nation. I’ll be back in no time. Amor fati.”
We hadn’t heard from him on the platform again until the middle of Sunday’s 34-7 Vikings butt-kicking of the Texans, when McCarthy offered an understated assessment of fellow Vikings QB Sam Darnold after yet another big-time throw.
It is hard to quantify the vibe shift that took place between those tweets. McCarthy’s injury threatened to turn a rebuilding year with intrigue into a lost season without purpose.
Vikings fans were less enthusiastic about the start of this season than any other in recent memory. Predictions gave the Vikings a slim chance to make the playoffs and a great chance at being mediocre.
Now? The Vikings are 3-0. Darnold is playing like a Comeback Player of the Year cinch and dark horse MVP candidate, enough so that fans held their breath when Darnold was briefly knocked out of Sunday’s game and cheered wildly when he came back in.
McCarthy, mere minutes after breaking his tweet silence to praise Darnold, offered “prayers up for 14.” Darnold’s testing came back with good news Monday — McCarthy’s surprising injury taught us to be cautious — and the season in this moment continues to feel charmed.
It’s the antidote to the fast-sinking Twins, as Patrick Reusse and I talked about on Monday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
A lot of what the Vikings are doing feels surprising, but watching it does not feel like a fluke. They are a fundamentally sound and very well-coached team — talented, for sure, but also taking on a quality the Lynx have embodied all season whereby the whole is greater than the sum of their parts.
