Vikings legend throws JJ McCarthy under the bus for rough showing in loss to Bears

J.J. McCarthy might have had his dreams come true when he won the National Championship with the Michigan Wolverines, but the start to his NFL career has been anything but ideal.

After tearing his meniscus and missing the entirety of his rookie year, he was finally named as the starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings ahead of the 2025 season. Since then, things have been rocky at best as the team has gone 4-6, including the loss to the Chicago Bears on Sunday.

Following Minnesota's defeat at the hands of the Bears, a Vikings legend (who oddly enough played for none other than the Ohio State Buckeyes in college) called McCarthy out for his abysmal performance.

After one fan praised McCarthy for having the "clutch gene," Cris Carter, a former wide receiver and eight-time Pro Bowler who is now in the Pro Football Hall of Fame, made sure everyone remembered the rest of McCarthy's performance.

Cris Carter blasts J.J. McCarthy's bad game vs Chicago

"Did you watch the first 59 mins?" Carter wrote on X, followed by a thumbs down emoji.

McCarthy completed just 47.7 percent of his pass attempts for 150 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He earned a quarterback rating of 22.0 (the 24th-lowest in the entire league for the week)

While Carter's call-out may have been a little fueled by the rivalry between Ohio State and Michigan, it was also undeniably called for after McCarthy struggled so heavily against the Bears.

Over the first 10 games of the season, McCarthy has only appeared in five matchups, dealing with a high right ankle sprain and a bruise to his throwing hand. The Vikings have only won two of the games he has played in.

McCarthy has averaged a QBR of just 52.9 behind 842 total yards, six passing touchdowns, and eight interceptions. He has earned just 110 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Simply put, he has looked far from deserving of his No. 10 overall draft pick.

The Vikings have just seven regular-season games remaining on the schedule (which is rapidly looking like the entirety of their season if they can't piece together a few more wins). Those seven matchups are McCarthy's chances to prove he was deserving of the expectations.

That is, if he can remain healthy.