The Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy was booed by the crowd in the game against the Chicago Bears after his passes sailed past wide receiver Justin Jefferson. More such mistakes led to the QB facing heavy criticism for weighing the Vikings down. But Jefferson doesn’t see it that way. The Vikings’ receiver praised McCarthy for handling the pressure well and doubled down on his support for the young quarterback.

“I just know with all of the criticism and all of the hateful messages he’s probably been getting, he can cut on the TV or SportsCenter. They can talk negatively about him. So, just trying to be that person for him that he can always lean on and talk to.” Jefferson said during the presser. “But it’s just all about just coming out here with that mindset of getting better and taking one play at a time, one day at a time. And ultimately just coming into the game with that.”

Much of Jefferson’s confidence in his quarterback likely stems from how well McCarthy has performed in practice. In the same presser, he called McCarthy a “great quarterback” with impressive “accuracy”.

The QB has also appreciated the support that he received from the WR as he struggles to make an impact.

“I can’t thank them enough for the patience level and the leadership out of every person in that group, them pushing me every single day to be the best version of myself, and doing it in ways that a lot of people don’t see. So, you know, I just love them with all my heart and [ I am] so grateful for every single one of those boys,” he said after the disappointing 19-17 loss to the Bears.

However, the QB’s frustration with his own mistakes was also evident when he opened up about the missed throw to Jefferson.

“You just can’t miss those,” McCarthy admitted.

He had an uninspiring outing in the game, completing 16 of 32 passes for 150 yards, with one touchdown and two interceptions. Now, with the Vikings sitting 4th in the NFC North at 4-6 and riding a two-game losing streak, patience is wearing thin. And the situation has certainly put more pressure on head coach Kevin O’Connell.

Kevin O’Connell grows impatient amid J.J. McCarthy’s struggles

Coach O’Connell holds the same opinion as Jefferson, that the QB needs to start showing his work in games.

“We’ve got to start seeing the cement dry on some of the things we’ve really worked hard to make football habits for him from a fundamentals and technique standpoint,” O’Connell said.

The Vikings’ head coach also addressed the accuracy issues that have kept McCarthy from being in his best form.

“When he gets to the top of his drops, we are really trying to see if we can get him to be more in a repeatable body position. His feet got a little bit wide. His base got really wide. That contributed to some of the accuracy issues.”

As of now, O’Connell hasn’t lost faith in his QB, and that was evident when reporters asked him about benching McCarthy.

“I’m not going to get into any of that right now,” he said.

However, it’s only a matter of time before things shift in a team that is seemingly torn between competing for the playoffs and their QB’s development. There are already rumors about the Vikings seeking San Francisco 49ers QB Mac Jones for the 2026 season. So McCarthy will have to make a move soon.