Game thoughts
- Offensive Line won the battle up front. defenders on the ground, huge holes for the RBs. That mistake by JJM late in the game where he turned the wrong way, Mason had a massive hole to run thru and seal the game.
- JJM's feet give our offense that other dimension. That TD run was beautiful. Addison (not Nailor as I said elsewhere) played that well, taking his guy back inside giving JJ the corner.
- JJ isn't afraid to throw a tight window pass. The TD to Jets and the final pass to Nailor. Those were tight. And perfect.
- Kudos to KOC for bringing the physicality. The OLine, the RBs, the commitment to the run. Something we haven't seen from KOC in the past. That is a winning game plan.
- Defense played physical too. None more that Wilson. That sack where he just blew up Gibbs. He looked like D Hunter coming thru there, he seemed massive and it was the determination.
- Tackling. They brought the RBs down when they made contact. Other than that first TD by the TE where everyone was trying to strip the ball rather than taking out his legs, our D tackled well.
- Wilson again. Might be the FA signing of the year.
- Smith showed up as well. That edge blitz and knockdown. Huge play at a huge time.
- Special teams: A blocked FG. Been a while since we had one up the middle. And the Price is right on the returns. Seems our ST coach is hitting his stride as well.
Seeing what a difference Eric Wilson has made to this defense makes me wonder if ILB shouldn't be our top pick in the draft. Wilson is a 31-year-old vet on his 6th team. What might this defense look like with a Fred Warner type lined up next to Cashman?
MaroonBells wrote:
Seeing what a difference Eric Wilson has made to this defense makes me wonder if ILB shouldn't be our top pick in the draft. Wilson is a 31-year-old vet on his 6th team. What might this defense look like with a Fred Warner type lined up next to Cashman?
Yeah, that ability to disrupt the middle of the pocket has been missing since the last #55 was mugging the A gap with EK.
StickierBuns wrote:
On JJ's TD run, he set up Anzalone and watched him eat turf as he skated by. He's getting to know the speed of the league. JJ's laser to Hock in the endzone was thrown against his body and was a piss missile. Great throw. When he turned around after that throw and gave a little arm pump, he was feeling it.
Might be my favorite play of the game.
MaroonBells wrote:I mentioned this in the offseason. MLB is a much bigger need than some realize. Should be at the top of the need area going into 2026 I would guess.
Seeing what a difference Eric Wilson has made to this defense makes me wonder if ILB shouldn't be our top pick in the draft. Wilson is a 31-year-old vet on his 6th team. What might this defense look like with a Fred Warner type lined up next to Cashman?
greediron wrote:
- Offensive Line won the battle up front. defenders on the ground, huge holes for the RBs. That mistake by JJM late in the game where he turned the wrong way, Mason had a massive hole to run thru and seal the game.
I didn't watch the end of the game but listened to PA and Bercich on Sirius. Bercich said that Mason patted his chest after the play to McCarthy acknowledging it was his (Mason's) fault.
badgervike wrote:
I didn't watch the end of the game but listened to PA and Bercich on Sirius. Bercich said that Mason patted his chest after the play to McCarthy acknowledging it was his (Mason's) fault.
Thats what I recall the tv announcers saying too - that one was on Mason. And yah, I could have run through that hole if the execution didnt get messed-up.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
badgervike wrote:
I didn't watch the end of the game but listened to PA and Bercich on Sirius. Bercich said that Mason patted his chest after the play to McCarthy acknowledging it was his (Mason's) fault.
Good to know.
Two unsung heroes in this game were Ben Yurosek and Nick Vannett, both of whom got several snaps each in Josh Oliver's absence. Both Yurosek and Vannett earned 70+ pass blocking grades in the Detroit game.
greediron wrote:
One other comment, how did Williams get away with a huge push off on his TD against Rodgers? Rodgers was right with him, and suddenly there was significant separation.
I wondered the same thing.
MaroonBells wrote:
Seeing what a difference Eric Wilson has made to this defense makes me wonder if ILB shouldn't be our top pick in the draft. Wilson is a 31-year-old vet on his 6th team. What might this defense look like with a Fred Warner type lined up next to Cashman?
Agreed 100%. A strong front 7 can make the secondary look better by default.
How nice would it be to land Arvell Reese or Anthony Hill? I would be fine a few others, but these guys would be ideal.
Wilson played so well and has stepped up for this team this year. He has fit perfectly and has been fun to watch.
purplefaithful wrote:
Thats what I recall the tv announcers saying too - that one was on Mason. And yah, I could have run through that hole if the execution didnt get messed-up.
The blocking was set up that way as well. The zone was timed for a straight hand off, not a cutback.
greediron wrote:
One other comment, how did Williams get away with a huge push off on his TD against Rodgers? Rodgers was right with him, and suddenly there was significant separation.
I saw this as well, but let's face it, the NFL likes exciting finishes. lol
StickierBuns wrote:
JJ McCarthy has 5 TD’s in 9 Quarters to Start his Career.If he gets 6 TD’s in 10 Quarters, it would be the most TD’s by a QB in NFL history in their first 10 quarters to start their NFL Career.
No QB has started their career with 6 TDs in 10 quarters? Is that right? That's actually a little shocking to me, so I had to go to the Google machine and I found this.
Most Touchdowns by a Rookie Quarterback in First Three Games
Player Touchdowns Year Team
Jayden Daniels 12 2024 Washington Commies
Justin Herbert 9 2020 Los Angeles Chargers
C.J. Stroud 8 2023 Houston Texans
Marcus Mariota 8 2015 Atlanta Falcons
Andrew Luck 8 2012 Indianapolis Colts
So that means that Daniels had to have had 7 TDs in the last three quarters of his fourth game, right? Wrong....this AI generated crap is wrong... Daniels actually only had 4 TDs total through his first three games. Herbert had 6 TDs through three games (not sure the quarters). Stroud had 4 TDs through three games. Mariota had a shocking 8 TDs in his first three games (6 TDs through two games). And Andrew Luck had only 5 TDs through his first three games.
So technically, Marcus Mariota is the only one to have 6 TDs through eight quarters to start his career.
However, in thinking through your statement, the math didn't math. McCarthy has played in three games and has 6 TDs (throwing and rushing), which means he has 6 TDs and played in 12 quarters. You must be throwing the Atlanta game out or only counting one quarter?
Maybe I'm missing something or Google failed me, but it would seem someone has already accomplished that feat. Maybe you're saying the actual quarters that he has scored TDs is only 9, but that's not right either, because he scored 3 in the fourth quarter in Chicago and he score 3 more TDs in the first quarter and third quarter in Detroit, so that's only 3 quarters in which he has scored TDs.
And the gif/meme...lol. Jim, when are we going to get a "laughing" icon to add to the "like" icon?
The trench wars went our way, and we got the good results we've craved so much!
JJ will only continue to emerge as a better weapon for JJM, especially if Addison and Nailor keep ramping up.
The Thielen trade will make a ton more sense when any of the above miss game time with an ankle, hammy, etc.
The presence of our returning players is even more important than tangible results. Van Gink and Harry are lethal as field generals.
Rodgers needs to get smarter/better, or we'll all forget his Cincy game.
Flores' cabinet is basically refilled, and it showed against our staunchest opponent of this season. Let's see what he does with it.
The INT was basically BS, the push-off for the TD was BS, but I revel in beating that "home cooking" situation.
If we keep Jones playing and get Ham back, that ground game will get better, yet.
JJ doing a light trolling of Campbell showed a bit of extra swagger. This could be a good thing, to a point.
KOC, JJM, Flores...make a good plan, or you'll be following Kwesi....
I love rewatching the sacks. Gibbs got destroyed on three of them. Pace knocked him backwards on Cash's sack. Cash drove him into Goff on Wilson's first and then Wilson's second sack, he blew up Gibbs.
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