J.J. McCarthy Injury Update: Vikings get massive bad news on QB's availability for Christmas day game vs. Lions

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy left Sunday's game against the New York Giants with a hand injury. The young playmaker didn't play in the second half of his team's 16-13 win over the NFC East team, which sounded the alarms regarding his availability in Week 17.

Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell offered an update on McCarthy on Tuesday. The former Michigan Wolverines star won't be available to face the Detroit Lions on Thursday. The NFC North matchup will be one of three games the NFL scheduled for Christmas.

Max Brosmer, who started for the Vikings against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13. He went 7 of 9 for 52 yards against the Giants on Sunday. The Vikings are on a three-game winning streak, but McCarthy's absence could ruin their plans of extending it to four games.

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O'Connell said he did not know when J.J. McCarthy got injured after the game. However, footage showed that the quarterback hit his right hand on the helmet of the Giants' defensive lineman Roy Robertson-Harris in the second quarter.

McCarthy's first active season with the Vikings hasn't gone as he would have liked. Thursday's game will be the seventh he's missed this season. He previously dealt with a right high ankle sprain that kept him sidelined for five games and a concussion that kept him off the field for one more game.

Emmanuel Acho called J.J. McCarthy "laughing stock of NFL" after win over Cowboys

J.J. McCarthy's performances this season have raised eyebrows among fans and analysts. Former player Emmanuel Acho took a jab at McCarthy while talking about Dak Prescott following the Vikings' 34-26 win in Week 15.

"Dak Prescott, how you get outplayed by J.J. McCarthy?" Acho said on "Speakeasy" on Sunday. "By J.J. McCarthy, the laughing stock of the National Football League, over the last month. He is a meme. He's more known for being a meme than he is a touchdown passer. And you got outplayed by him. "You (Prescott) got George Pickens, CeeDee Lamb on your team, and you're throwing the (Ryan) Flournoy, huh? Make that make sense? So to me, the Cowboys played a dumb brand of football, and they acted like a dumb team. In totality, this year, just a completely dumb team."

McCarthy has been under scrutiny all season long, both for his performances and inability to stay healthy.

Edited by Orlando Silva