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Five quarterbacks — Tom Brady, Joe Montana, Patrick Mahomes, Terry Bradshaw and Troy Aikman — have won three or more Super Bowls.
Two of them played, in their first year as a starter, worse than J.J. McCarthy has played this season for the Vikings.
I watched one of those seasons up close.
In 1989, I was covering the Cowboys for the Dallas Morning News. Troy Aikman, now a Hall of Famer, was the first selection in the 1989 NFL draft and began the season as a starter.
He did not win a game as a rookie. The Cowboys’ only victory that season came when St. Paul native Steve Walsh defeated Washington while Aikman nursed one of his many injuries that season.
Bradshaw stunk in his first season as a starter, too, completing just 38.1% of his passes, throwing for six touchdowns with 24 interceptions.
This season, McCarthy has completed 56% of his passes, with nine TD throws and 10 interceptions, for a passer rating of 67.4.
You will be shocked at how well that compares to the first seasons of a number of great quarterbacks:
Peyton Manning: 56.7 completion percentage, 26 touchdowns, 28 interceptions, passer rating of 71.2.
Eli Manning: 48.2, 6-9, 55.4
Bradshaw: 38.1, 6-24, 30.4.
Aikman: 52.9, 9-18, 55.7.
John Elway: 47.5, 7-14, 54.9.
Josh Allen: 52.8, 10-12, 67.9.
An important caveat: Thousands of quarterbacks have started their careers poorly and then had poor careers.
McCarthy’s flair for the dramatic, combined with his first efficient performance as a pro Sunday in the Vikings’ 31-0 victory over Washington, gives us permission to envision McCarthy developing into something special.
Like Aikman.
Aikman is one of the toughest athletes I’ve ever watched up close. That toughness would make him an exceptional player and leader. As a rookie, it threatened to end his career.
Playing behind a developing offensive line, without a running game, for a coach (Jimmy Johnson) who wanted to throw the ball a lot, with No. 1 receiver Michael Irvin missing much of the season because of injuries, Aikman repeatedly held the ball in the pocket until the last possible second, trying to give his receivers as much time as possible to get open.
He paid a physical price, often getting smashed in the chin or chest as he released the ball. He played in just 11 games in 1989. The Cowboys would score a total of 20 points in their last three games.
Late in the season, I sat in the office of defensive coordinator Dave Wannstedt, who seemed shockingly optimistic. What I remember him saying went something like this: “Jimmy is starting to realize how important it is to run the ball in this league, even if you’re not getting much yardage, just to relieve pressure on the quarterback and wear down the defense. If we can give Troy a good running back and get Irvin back, and we find a couple of pass rushers, look out.”
The Cowboys drafted Emmitt Smith the next year. He would become the NFL’s all-time rushing leader. Irvin became a Hall of Famer. Wannstedt built a powerhouse defense, in part thanks to the Herschel Walker trade, and Aikman was the ideal leader for that team — a leader who had taken lumps and had his worthiness questioned as a rookie.
McCarthy is in a much better situation today than Aikman was in 1989. He has a phenomenal and healthy No. 1 receiver, in Justin Jefferson.
He has plenty of receiving options, two good running backs and an offensive line that is effective when healthy.
The grand plan of having him develop into a winner has been deferred but not yet destroyed.
Yes, McCarthy has played terribly at times this season. That puts him in pretty good company.
STRIB
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