Who are the best available targets for GM?

I haven't a clue

The Vikings ran the ball on 55.7% of their offensive plays, the highest single-game rate under O’Connell (according to NFL Next Gen Stats) and just the ninth time in the coach’s 64 regular-season games they have run more than 50% of the time. 

They made the runs count, gaining 162 yards on the ground and averaging 0.25 expected points per run, which was a higher rate than in any game under O’Connell other than their Week 7 loss to the Detroit Lions last year.

They built it out of heavy personnel groups, using tight ends T.J. Hockenson, Josh Oliver and Ben Sims for a combined 95 snaps while playing C.J. Ham for 26 of their 64 offensive snaps, using the fullback as a pass blocker or receiving option on 10 snaps while making him a run blocker on 16. The Vikings had multiple tight ends or running backs on the field for nine of McCarthy’s 23 pass attempts; McCarthy’s first completion, to Sims, and his first touchdown pass to Oliver, an 18-yarder, came out of three-tight end sets.

It made the Vikings more efficient through the air, too. According to NFL Next Gen Stats, the Vikings averaged 0.36 expected points per pass play Sunday, their highest figure of the season and their first with a positive EPA-per-play average with McCarthy as the starter.

Effectively, the Vikings ran something closer to what McCarthy directed at Michigan, whose 563 runs over 15 games during the quarterback’s final year there ranked seventh in the nation, according to Sports Info Solutions.

The way the Vikings played against Washington works best when they have a lead, which might have been another reason why O’Connell took the ball after they won the coin toss, and while they can pair that offensive style with a defense that’s at its best when pressuring quarterbacks, it’s not as feasible if they’re playing from behind and asking McCarthy to play a dropback game.

They will want the quarterback to grow, and they will need to find ways to get the ball to Justin Jefferson, who again was limited, recording two catches on just four targets Sunday. But as McCarthy hit Jordan Addison for 21 yards on a corner route off the Smash concept the Vikings ran in the second quarter, Jefferson (who was running a short hitch on the play) pointed at the quarterback and clapped.

“Justin’s the first progression on the play,” O’Connell said. “He knows he’s covered by a defender that, as you draw it up, probably should be in that area. J.J., in rhythm, takes a second hitch and throws the ball to the void, and Jordan goes and gets the gets the ball.

For the Vikings on Sunday, it worked. As lofty a goal as it was to build a team that can win multiple ways en route to a deep playoff run, the Vikings needed to start with a style that was compatible with how McCarthy is playing now. They seemed to realize it last week, and against the Commanders, they put it into action for the quarterback’s best day of the season.

“When you’re trying to make a game plan friendly for the quarterback, there’s a lot of layers to it,” O’Connell said Monday. “The word ‘simplification’ is getting thrown out. If it was that simple, I would probably get a lot more rest throughout the week. But you’re trying to call it in a way where you’re continuing to maintain the principles of how we want to play. So decision-making, execution, no matter what you’re calling, it’s got to be what it was now. It’s just going to be a consistency factor for all of us.”

Strib

— Vikings Win Next 4 (at Cowboys, at Giants, vs. Lions, vs. Packers) 
— Bears Lose Out (vs Browns, vs. Packers, at 49ers, vs. Lions) 
— Lions Lose 3 but Beat Bears (at Rams, vs. Steelers, at Vikings, at Bears)
— Panthers Lose 2 Games (at Saints, vs. Bucs, vs. Seahawks, at Bucs) 
— Cowboys Lose to Vikings and 1 Extra (vs. Vikings, vs. Chargers, vs. Commies, at Giants)

The odds of all this happening fall between 1-2%

Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said he reached out to Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz on Sunday night after the Vikings’ 31-0 win in which Ertz suffered a season-ending knee injury while taking a low hit from safety Jay Ward in the third quarter.

O’Connell defended Ward’s hit on Ertz. Ward hit Ertz’s right leg as the 35-year-old veteran leaped for a pass from Commanders backup quarterback Marcus Mariota. Washington coach Dan Quinn told reporters Monday that Ertz will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL.

“Hate seeing those things happen,” O’Connell said Monday. “Just wanted to connect with [Ertz] a little bit. ... Always thought the absolute world of him as a player.”

“I know for a fact there was no bad intent behind that play,” he added. “Things are happening fast out there. You got to be very aware of where a guy’s head and neck area are on those plays.”

Tight end T.J. Hockenson suffered two torn knee ligaments at the end of the 2023 season when Detroit Lions safety Kerby Joseph hit him low. Hockenson was injured like others before him with his leg planted in the turf, but Ertz’s catastrophic injury happened as Ward hit him in the air.

O’Connell said he understands the constraints with which NFL defenders must operate by not hitting receivers in the head and neck areas, which can push their tackling aim to the lower body.

“It’s the worst part of our game,” O’Connell said of injuries, “and in many ways I do believe it’s unavoidable.”

Strib

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

I refused to head to my locals sports bar to watch the game on Sunday and it was not airing in my neck of the woods.
I had holiday stuff to do with the trophy wife, so before I headed out the door, I thought I'd maybe peek at the score. 
Yes, I admit...I peeked.
Vikings were up 14-0 at that point, so on our shopping journey, I checked in from time to time.
And then I did what I absolutely was NOT going to do...I watched some of the highlight videos.

I don't know if the Commanders were that bad or we were that good.
But it's like a moth to a lightbulb for a lifelong Vikings fan...I can't stay away for good.

Was the 1st game all season where the originally envisioned starting 5 started AND finished???

Sanders has to be the guy going forward. Dude looks like he can play.

Here’s your chance to buy low. K’aaron took 2 years to get back to normal. Kirk still looks like shit. If you want him, he’ll be available.

Atta boy JJM. Grip and rip it. Nice 1st drive