Well, now what?
In the considerable shadow of Isaiah Rodgers on Sunday, Carson Wentz played the best game for a Vikings quarterback since Dec. 29, 2024, when Sam Darnold passed for 377 yards and three touchdowns in a 27-25 victory over Green Bay.
This is a development that, in Minnesota, could be eclipsed only by the kind of game Rodgers had in the Vikings’ 48-10 victory over Cincinnati at U.S. Bank Stadium. The cornerback returned an interception and fumble recovery for touchdowns, then forced a second fumble to start another touchdown drive.
In the first half.
You can’t take this one away from Rodgers and the defense, which forced five turnovers and consistently gave the offense a short field to work with. They were so good that Wentz, now a journeyman (where does the time go?) making his sixth start for a new team in six years, really just had to play clean to help the Vikings rebound from an embarrassing 22-6 loss to Atlanta last week.
But Wentz, 32, was better than that.
The numbers aren’t eye-popping — 14 of 20 for 173 yards and two touchdowns — but all intents and purposes Wentz was perfect. Pulled with a 48-3 late in the third quarter, he took some sacks early, but each was the smart move and he didn’t turn the ball over. His decisions were good, and his passes were accurate with the right touch.
Not bad for a guy who didn’t have a training camp, with the Vikings or anyone else.
So, now what?
Head coach Kevin O’Connell and general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah have a decision to make, or they will at least after next Sunday’s game against the Steelers in Dublin: Move on with veteran Wentz running the offense, or give the ball back to J.J. McCarthy, who is big, talented and has a strong arm but is essentially a rookie and looked like one in the Vikings’ first two games.
McCarthy showed some real moxie in a season-opening, Monday night victory at Chicago in his NFL debut, cinching his belt and leading a late touchdown drive to dispatch the Bears at Soldier Field. It was a positive sign.
Still, there’s no getting around the fact that McCarthy has otherwise been underwhelming, completing a combined 59 percent of his passes for 301 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions. Maybe that’s to be expected, but considering the Vikings decided not to re-sign Darnold, and declined a one-year offer from Aaron Rodgers, maybe they expected more?
This team has made a lot of moves, and spent a lot of money, to be solid everywhere but quarterback.
Maybe Wentz can change that. The second overall pick in the 2016 draft, he is 47-46-1 as an NFL starter, passing for 153 touchdowns and 67 interceptions in 94 starts. Those are better numbers that Sam Darnold had before led Minnesota to a 14-3 regular-season record in 2024.
The Vikings have, in fact, done well with short-timer veteran quarterbacks. Brett Favre led the best Vikings team in years to the NFC Championship Game. So did Case Keenum after Sam Bradford aggravated an old knee injury. Heck, even Randall Cunningham had to come out of retirement before taking the Vikings to the now infamous 1998 NFC title game.
None of them reached the Holy Mountain. It has been mentioned in this space that expecting a rookie quarterback to lead a team there is nigh on delusional, and odd for a team that for the past two years has made a ton of good free-agent moves.
Maybe Wentz is the one that makes the biggest difference.
One game, especially one so dominated by the defense, certainly isn’t enough to decide whether this is even an issue, but O’Connell has to be stroking his chin. Internal competition can be productive, and if the Vikings have serious thoughts about making the playoffs — especially in a division with two other good teams — the only thing that matters here is performance.
Now, not later.
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