The Minnesota Vikings just dropped another game. This time to the Green Bay Packers, marking their seventh loss of the season. The Vikings’ quarterback JJ McCarthy had a rough outing, completing just 12 of 19 passes for 87 yards, zero score, throwing two interceptions, and getting sacked five times.

Naturally, that led to a bigger question: Can this Vikings team actually win with McCarthy under center? Head coach Kevin O’Connell believes they certainly can.

“I think you can. I do believe that,” the Vikings head coach said after the 23-6 defeat. “It does require as a football team not doing things that loses games. [You want to] give him a chance to grow but not [put] the game totally in his hands, where the variance of a young quarterback will cost our whole team. And I think there’s a needle to thread there.”

O’Connell didn’t pin the Week 12 loss solely on McCarthy. Instead, he pointed to how close to perfect the rest of the roster has to be when the quarterback struggles like this. It was his way of addressing the issue without isolating his young QB.

“Our margin of error is clearly pretty razor thin right now,” the Vikings’ HC added. “But what we can’t do is lose the turnover battle 3-0, significantly lose the field position battle and then have negative plays on offense. That gives you really no chance against one of the better defenses in the league.”

Minnesota was flat-out overwhelmed against the Packers on both sides of the ball. Green Bay built an early cushion, racked up 288 total yards (142 through the air and 146 on the ground), and Minnesota’s defense managed to sack Jordan Love only once. And offensively? They matched that struggle step for step.

Minnesota produced just 145 total yards, with only 52 passing yards and 93 on the ground. They never found the end zone, settling for two field goals, committed 3 turnovers, and the offensive line offered almost no stability. McCarthy was under constant pressure and took five sacks, which only made an already rough outing even tougher to overcome.

However, Kevin O’Connell is still optimistic that if the whole unit can perform close to perfection, they can still win with McCarthy running the offense. The only wrinkle, though? That injury bug just won’t stop biting.

Kevin O’Connell addressed the offensive-line injuries

The Vikings are marred with injuries this season. First, McCarthy was out for most of the season before finally returning to the roster. Then Carson Wentz also went down. Fast forward to now, and the team’s offensive line is dealing with a couple of injuries.  Christian Darrisaw (foot/ankle) and Donovan Jackson (ankle) both went down and were ruled out in the second quarter, adding to Minnesota’s growing problems up front. After the game, O’Connell addressed these injuries as well.

Per the Vikings’ beat reporter, Ben Goessling, “Kevin O’Connell said Christian Darrisaw was trying to play through his foot and ankle injuries, and Donovan Jackson wanted to go back in the game, but trainers thought it would be best to hold him out. They’ll both be evaluated this week.”

Injuries have been a part of Darrisaw and Jackson’s careers. Take this season, for instance. Jackson, the Vikings’ 24th overall pick this year, had already missed time earlier in the season after wrist surgery. Darrisaw, on the other hand, wasn’t in a much better spot. He lost most of the 2024 season to a major knee injury 13 months ago and then missed the first two games of this year.

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And while the severity of their latest injuries still isn’t clear, the concern is obvious. If Kevin O’Connell and his staff lose both starting O-linemen, it becomes a real problem. After all, McCarthy is already struggling behind a shaky pocket.