Vikings QB Situation Remains Cloudy After Bye Week
The Minnesota Vikings are currently enjoying their bye week, one that comes at a great time for the team. Minnesota is one of the more banged-up teams in the league right now, with key players such as C Ryan Kelly, RT Brian O’Neill, LG Donovan Jackson, RB Aaron Jones Sr., LB Blake Cashman, and ED Andrew Van Ginkel all dealing with various ailments. Kelly, Jones, and Cashman are currently on Injured Reserve (IR).
Still, even on an off week, controversy swirls around the Vikings. There’s some quarterback intrigue happening in Minnesota. Starting QB J.J. McCarthy has been out since Week 2 with a high-ankle sprain, and now backup QB Carson Wentz is dealing with a shoulder injury. Neither quarterback is guaranteed to be good to go against the Eagles in Week 7.
On Sunday morning, NFL insider Tom Pelissero of NFL Network shed some light on the Vikings’ quarterback dilemma on the NFL GameDay show. “The Vikings’ quarterback situation is murky, to say the least,” Pelissero said. “J.J. McCarthy, I’m told, got good work during the bye week. He should be able to return to practice this week, but McCarthy is still not 100 percent on that ankle.”
“They gotta see his mobility, they gotta see how the ankle responds, and they gotta make sure he is comfortable and in a groove from an operational perspective before they put him back out on the field. Meanwhile, his backup, Carson Wentz, [is] dealing with a left shoulder injury. He could be limited in practice this week. A lot to sort through to figure out who’s going to be out there on the field next week against the Eagles.”
Is There a Starting Quarterback Controversy for the Minnesota Vikings?
Charles McQuillan/GettyDUBLIN, IRELAND – SEPTEMBER 28: Carson Wentz of Minnesota Vikings (#11) makes a pass during the NFL 2025 game between Minnesota Vikings and Pittsburgh Steelers at Croke Park on September 28, 2025 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)
A second-year passer out of Michigan, McCarthy was the No. 10 overall pick in 2024 and missed his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus. In his stead, reclamation quarterback Sam Darnold had a sensational season, leading the Vikings to 14 wins, though he couldn’t get it done in the playoffs. Minnesota chose to let him walk in the offseason, anointing McCarthy as the guy this season.
This is essentially McCarthy’s rookie season, and some growing pains were to be expected. Still, this staff took a risk not re-signing Darnold and committing to McCarthy, and in his two games, it’s been more bad than good. He’s thrown for 301 yards and two touchdowns, adding 50 yards and another score on the ground. But McCarthy also threw three interceptions, completed less than 60 percent of his passes, and failed to execute consistent offense, really only having one good quarter of play out of eight.
Meanwhile, the veteran Wentz has been steadier, but not good. In three games, he has 759 passing yards, five touchdowns, and two interceptions. He’s completing 69 percent of his passes.
The Minnesota Vikings Enter a Tough Three-Game Stretch
Coming out of their bye week, the Vikings play the Eagles, Chargers, and Lions in quick succession. That’s a brutal three-game stretch, and if McCarthy is able to return, he’ll be thrown right back to the wolves.
It doesn’t get much easier after that, as the Vikings still have to play the Packers, Seahawks, Commanders, Cowboys, Lions, and Packers later in the year. It’s a tough schedule, and one that doesn’t allow McCarthy to get his feet under him before he’ll be called upon to step up and win games.
Phillies had no answer as Dodgers managed their biggest weakness perfectly
The Philadelphia Phillies had a path to win the National League Division Series before it began. The Los Angeles Dodgers came in as the defending World Series champions, but they had holes in their roster as much as anyone else. They had a leaky bullpen going into the playoffs, but you wouldn't know it with how well the Dodgers managed their bullpen throughout the four games.
The Dodgers' bullpen was the part of the roster the Phillies' offense had to get to in order to succeed. As long as the Phillies could hang in against the Dodgers' starting pitching, they'd have a chance in the later innings. The Dodgers made adjustments with a shortened playoff series and outlasted the Phillies to win the series.
Dodgers managed their bullpen to perfection in NLDS to shut down Phillies
The top of the lineup had to apply pressure for the Phillies to have a chance in the series, but they instead made the eight runs they scored in Game 3 look more like a fluke. In Game 4, the top three hitters of Trea Turner, Kyle Schwarber and Bryce Harper sang a familiar tune, going a combined 1-for-14. As a team, they only scratched across four hits total. The Dodgers' bullpen came out on top in the end.
In the regular season, the Dodgers' bullpen ranked 21st with a bullpen ERA of 4.27. Ironically enough, they finished tied with the Phillies. They also had a 10.38 ERA over the two Wild Card games against a Cincinnati Reds offense that didn't impose any substantial threat. The Dodgers learned from that and approached things differently once they played the Phillies.
The Dodgers barely used traditional relievers for the entire four-game NLDS. They leaned heavily on extra starters to get the job done, and unfortunately, it worked to perfection. The one thing that few teams in MLB can go toe-to-toe with the Dodgers on is the depth of their starting rotation.
Roki Sasaki, a rookie who sported a 4.46 ERA across 10 games (eight starts) this season, was moved to the bullpen for the playoffs. He proceeded to throw 4 1/3 shutout innings against the Phillies, including three perfect innings in the clinching Game 4.
The Dodgers also deployed Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan out of the bullpen, limiting any threat the Phillies thought they could muster late in games. The only real success the Phillies had against the Dodgers' bullpen was facing 37-year-old Clayton Kershaw when he was hung out to dry in Game 3 and against Blake Treinen, who they scored twice against in Game 2 but ultimately fell one run short of a comeback.
The beauty and agony of a short playoff series is that every moment is amplified. Every game means more, and as a result, teams manipulate their pitching staffs to minimize any weakness. The Dodgers did it well and showed the Phillies the door in another early playoff exit.
