On Aug. 13, as J.J. McCarthy and the rest of us learned that a promising start to his rookie year had been cut short by a season-ending meniscus injury, the Vikings QB posted on X: “Love you Viking nation. I’ll be back in no time. Amor fati.”
RandBall: Vikings have changed the vibe and are loving their fate
A rare social media post from injured Vikings rookie QB J.J. McCarthy offered a reminder Sunday of just how much has changed in the last month.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 23, 2024 at 4:28PM
We hadn’t heard from him on the platform again until the middle of Sunday’s 34-7 Vikings butt-kicking of the Texans, when McCarthy offered an understated assessment of fellow Vikings QB Sam Darnold after yet another big-time throw.
It is hard to quantify the vibe shift that took place between those tweets. McCarthy’s injury threatened to turn a rebuilding year with intrigue into a lost season without purpose.
Vikings fans were less enthusiastic about the start of this season than any other in recent memory. Predictions gave the Vikings a slim chance to make the playoffs and a great chance at being mediocre.
Now? The Vikings are 3-0. Darnold is playing like a Comeback Player of the Year cinch and dark horse MVP candidate, enough so that fans held their breath when Darnold was briefly knocked out of Sunday’s game and cheered wildly when he came back in.
McCarthy, mere minutes after breaking his tweet silence to praise Darnold, offered “prayers up for 14.” Darnold’s testing came back with good news Monday — McCarthy’s surprising injury taught us to be cautious — and the season in this moment continues to feel charmed.
It’s the antidote to the fast-sinking Twins, as Patrick Reusse and I talked about on Monday’s Daily Delivery podcast.
A lot of what the Vikings are doing feels surprising, but watching it does not feel like a fluke. They are a fundamentally sound and very well-coached team — talented, for sure, but also taking on a quality the Lynx have embodied all season whereby the whole is greater than the sum of their parts.
There are a lot of parts, though, especially on defense. If that side of the ball was the reason for any optimism coming into the year, the sentiment has been confirmed even with Darnold, Justin Jefferson and Aaron Jones doing their thing on offense.
The Vikings have playmakers at all levels and are harassing quarterbacks at unprecedented levels. They’re the first team in 20 years to have at least five sacks in their first three games.
They could have bemoaned their fate when McCarthy was lost for the year. Instead, they have embodied McCarthy’s Latin phrasing. Amor fati. Love your fate.
So far, they sure do.
Here are four more things to know today:
- I’ve paid a lot of attention to the Twins’ tiebreaker edge over the Tigers and Mariners. But with both the Twins and Royals in a free-fall — the Twins are a game behind both the Tigers and Royals in the wild card standings — it’s important to know the Twins also have the tiebreaker edge over Kansas City. The Twins don’t have momentum on their side, but they still have math.
- Speaking of Minnesota and Kansas City, the Loons scored their first regular-season road victory ever at Sporting KC over the weekend, solidifying their playoff hopes.
- Loved this quote from Lynx star Napheesa Collier after her huge game helped the Lynx down Phoenix and Diana Taurasi in Sunday’s playoff opener. “I feel lucky to have been able to play with her on Team USA and against her,” Collier said. “And hopefully we can end her career on Wednesday.”
- Tuesday’s podcast will feature my film review with Andrew Krammer and three hot takeaways from Sunday’s Vikings game.
Darnold briefly left Sunday’s game after being hit low by Texans edge rusher Danielle Hunter; additional testing determined he had a bruised left knee.
