Here’s what an intelligent football fan should have taken from the NFL playoffs this weekend:
Souhan: A Vikings observer’s view of the NFL’s final foursome
We saw over the weekend promising precedents for young, mobile quarterbacks. The Minnesota roster includes one of those, J.J. McCarthy.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
January 20, 2025 at 5:33AM
- The final four quarterbacks all can beat you from the pocket, on the scramble and with the run. The Vikings believe J.J. McCarthy possesses the ability to succeed each way.
- Quarterback legacies are often built on others’ acts. When Baltimore was attempting to take control of the game in the second half Sunday night, tight end Mark Andrews caught a pass over the middle for a first down in Buffalo territory … then fumbled.
With 1:33 remaining, Andrews — a tremendous player — dropped a two-point conversion attempt that would have tied the score.
Lamar Jackson is the one who will be cited as not having made it to a Super Bowl.
- Gophers football has built an impressive cast of NFL standouts. The Vikings’ Blake Cashman had an outstanding season. Tampa Bay Buccaneers safety Antoine Winfield Jr. was a key player on a Super Bowl champ. On Sunday, the Ravens had two former Gophers among their starters: wide receiver Rashod Bateman and offensive lineman Daniel Faalele. Bateman scored a touchdown in both of Baltimore’s playoff games.
- For any franchise desperate for long-term stability and hope, someone like Jayden Daniels is the dream.
Daniels continued one of the greatest rookie seasons in NFL history by leading Washington to a 45-31 victory over top-seeded Detroit on Saturday night.
He’s accurate, throws an excellent deep ball, scrambles well, runs well, and is an excellent and unflappable decision-maker.
We have no way of knowing whether McCarthy can play at that level, but playing under Kevin O’Connell gives him a chance.
- On Dec. 5, what we now know was a flawed Green Bay Packers offense scored 31 points against the injury-ravaged Lions defense.
On Dec. 15, the Bills scored 48.
On Dec. 30, the injury-ravaged San Francisco 49ers offense scored 34.
On Saturday, a rookie quarterback helped produce 45 points in Detroit.
Don’t blame the coach. Quarterbacks ranging in skill from pretty good to great produced an average of about 40 points a game against the now-woeful Lions defense.
Sam Darnold regularly had receivers open for touchdowns and big plays and produced none.
That’s why the Vikings should and almost assuredly will move on from Darnold.
- Troy Aikman and Joe Buck have always been an unsatisfying combination, more smug than insightful. They received a rare round of plaudits this weekend for the wrong reason.
They agreed with the general social media reaction that Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs were benefiting from officials’ favoritism on two personal-foul penalties after hits to Mahomes.
The first call was incorrect. The officials saw Mahomes’ head jerk back and wrongly assumed he had been hit in the head.
On the second, two Houston Texans defenders came in late and low to try to hit Mahomes in the head after he had slid, ending the play. Both contacted Mahomes’ helmet. Because they were so intent on injuring Mahomes, they inadvertently hit each other in the heads, meaning that their hits to Mahomes’ head were lessened.
The officials got this one right. It’s their job to protect quarterbacks because good, healthy quarterbacks are what make the NFL popular. If you want to see people intentionally injured, watch MMA.
- Los Angeles Rams pass rusher Jared Verse should have been a Viking.
In part because the Vikings should have taken him instead of Dallas Turner in the first round last year. In part because Verse ripped into Eagles fans, then handled the increased scrutiny he drew by performing like a star in Philly, in the playoffs, a situation in which Vikings fans found Eagles fans to be the worst in sports.
- All those coaches on the various Mount Rushmores of NFL history had it all wrong. NFL coaches should have been going for it frequently on fourth down all along. Going for it not only increases a team’s expected points scored, it also frees up play-calling because the offensive coordinator knows he can call a wider variety of plays on third down.
- Next time you want to complain about Vikings franchise history, take a look at the Lions. This was by far their best team of the Super Bowl era, and they didn’t win a single playoff game.
We saw over the weekend promising precedents for young, mobile quarterbacks. The Minnesota roster includes one of those, J.J. McCarthy.
