Vikings' well-built, well-heeled offense remains off track as frustration rises in latest loss

McCarthy raised his arms to press his palms against the top of his helmet, immediately realizing the latest missed opportunity and blaming himself for another bad throw.

Despite the go-ahead touchdown pass McCarthy delivered to Jordan Addison with 50 seconds left, a sudden lapse by the Vikings on special teams after a solid afternoon in that phase gave the Chicago Bears the late break they needed for a 19-17 victory on Sunday.

For all the poise, touch and confidence McCarthy put into that final drive, with five consecutive completions after the 2-minute warning covering 55 yards, the body of work in his fifth career start left the Vikings with plenty of questions about how they can make this season any more than a developmental experience for the 10th overall pick in the 2024 draft.

“I felt extremely prepared going into this game. I felt super dialed in physically. It’s just something I need to really figure out to make sure I keep this thing rolling for 60 minutes consistently,” said McCarthy, who went 16 for 32 for 150 yards and two more interceptions.

That throw to Jefferson was on third-and-7, because tackles Christian Darrisaw and Brian O'Neill both climbed out of their stance before the snap after hearing the signal differently than the rest of the linemen and receivers.

That was the only false start of the game after the Vikings had eight the previous game, but after extra work on the pre-snap communication all week coach Kevin O'Connell was clearly irritated by that mistake afterward among the series of mistakes by a well-built and well-heeled offense that has only been consistent this season at disappointing — themselves, the coaches and the fans.

After a third-down sack by Andrew Van Ginkel and Myles Price’s 42-yard punt return provided the necessary sparks, the Vikings took over at the 24 early in the fourth quarter and reached the end zone in just two plays without McCarthy doing anything but hand off to Jordan Mason. His touchdown run cut the lead to 16-10. Then after the defense delivered again by forcing a punt, McCarthy put together the go-ahead drive.

“It felt like we were one or two pitch and catches away from having a little bit different dynamic to the game throughout,” O'Connell said. “We’ve just got to stay the course and continue to coach the principles that we believe in wholeheartedly and continue to try to pave the path for improvement. It starts with the pitching and catching and the things we put together to try to make it as quarterback-friendly as we can."

This was the fourth time in 10 games the Vikings (4-6) failed to score 20 points. They only fell under that mark twice last season. In O'Connell's debut in 2022, they only had three sub-20-point games.

The Vikings have also scored 23-plus points only twice this year after hitting that threshold 13 times last season and the same amount in 2022.

McCarthy made his share of sharp throws, including two drops by Addison and a handful of others that receivers had hands on but didn't secure. But the ones that missed — combined with the ones that were intercepted to end consecutive second-quarter drives — were eyesores similar to the previous game. Underthrows, overthrows, off-the-mark throws — they were all on display again for McCarthy. Last week, he hit his hand on a teammate's helmet while following through on a throw and had to wear a wrap on it all week to help with the soreness and swelling.

“No excuses. Not an issue at all. It was fine,” McCarthy said.

Later in the third quarter, McCarthy threw over the middle to an open Jefferson on third down, a ball that was catchable but too high and hard for Jefferson to grab. Jefferson was visibly upset after that miss, coming close to chucking his helmet as he reached the sideline before calming himself enough to avoid making a scene.

“The frustrations are there. It happens. It’s part of a football. It’s a part of growing and figuring things out,” Jefferson said. “We’ve just got to do better all around.”

After that earlier third-down incompletion to Jefferson, boos rained down from the unimpressed crowd as the players on this underperforming offense jogged toward the sideline. The Vikings are just 1-4 at home this season after going 6-1 at U.S. Bank Stadium last year.

“We’ve got the greatest fans in the world, and they expect a lot more out of us, and rightfully so,” McCarthy said, his voice rising. “I feel like it’s just a reminder to us that we better get going and we better figure this out. We don’t have a lot of games left, so the urgency is at an all-time high.”

AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/NFL