Is He Playing Day? Day 2

The Minnesota Vikings host the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. It’s the final game of a disappointing season for the Vikings. The Packers are headed to the playoffs. The Vikings are on a four-game win streak. The Packers have lost three straight. The Vikings are aiming for a fifth consecutive win. The Packers are starting Clayton Tune at quarterback. The Vikings appear to be the only team looking to win on Sunday. The Packers are apparently content with riding into the playoffs on the high of four consecutive losses. Nice.

The question of the week for the Vikings has been the playing status of quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He missed last week’s Christmas Day game against the Detroit Lions with a hairline fracture in his throwing hand. “Is he playing?” It’s been moving in the “playing” direction since he checked his grip strength with trainers on Tuesday. It continued moving in the “playing” direction on Wednesday when was a limited participant in the first practice of the week. Yesterday, he was listed as a full participant. Oh, he’s playing. That’s good news for plenty of reasons. One of the most significant is that receiver Justin Jefferson needs 53 yards to hit 1000 yards on the season. 53 is much more attainable with McCarthy throwing the ball than Max Brosmer. As with the team as a whole, this has been a difficult season for Jefferson. With the availability issues at quarterback and the revolving door of offensive linemen, the Vikings offense has often been terrible. It’s actually remarkable that Jefferson is even within shot of the milestone. McCarthy at quarterback is the best way for Jefferson to get there. 

Then there’s the whole deal of actually playing an NFL regular season game to win. All teams should and few teams are this weekend. Preseason-like games in Week 18 have become an annual thing since Roger Goodell forced a 17th game on the football-watching public. Is it going to be two weeks of this shit when he and the greedy owners bump it to 18? 

If the Vikings were pansies like the Packers, they’d be shutting J.J. McCarthy down for the season. There’d be no harm in it. There’d probably be no criticism either. There’d also be no honor. One more game of experience can only be a positive thing for a 22-year old rookie. Not to mention, playing to win an NFL regular season is always a good thing. 

 

Is he playing? Oh yes, he’s playing.