J.J. McCarthy goes from promising to cringe in Vikings-Ravens showdown

Things started out well for J.J. McCarthy. The Minnesota Vikings, who recently fell out of contention for the starting quarterback position to Kyler Murray, had a solid play in the team's preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday.

During the game, McCarthy made a huge play, connecting with wide receiver Tai Felton for a 50-yard gain. But, the highlights ended there.

McCarthy is competing to keep the QB2 role. When his time on the field was over on Saturday, he had completed five of 10 passes for 81 yards.

What's worse is that McCarthy had two big misfires. He failed to connect with receiver Myles Price on the sideline on the initial snap of the game. Then, later on in the matchup, McCarthy missed Price on a short and seemingly easy throw right at the end zone.

J.J. McCarthy struggles after promising start

On top of it, McCarthy got beaten up a bit by the Ravens. He got sacked once and hit a few times. That's not a great look and also tough to get hit like that in the preseason.

After the game, Vikings head coach Kevin O'Connell was asked to give his assessment of McCarthy's performance. He was fairly positive and emphasized the big play with Felton but also seemed tongue-tied on how to respond. So, it was uncomfortable, at best. But, he said the big play was a "really nice job climbing and, and giving Tai a chance."

The Vikings' other backup quarterback, Carson Wentz, played in the second half of the game. He could end up being the direct backup to Murray, but it's way too early to make those projections.

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