Hey, at Least J.J. McCarthy Can't Get Much Worse ... Right?

By Matt Schauf | Updated on Mon, Nov 24 2025 5:29 PM UTC

Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy might have hit bottom in fantasy terms in Sunday's loss to the Packers. (At least, we should all hope he can't fare much worse.) Despite trailing from the middle of the first quarter on, McCarthy attempted just 19 passes at Green Bay. He completed 12 of those for a mere 87 yards, no TDs, and 2 INTs -- his third straight game with two picks and fourth such game in six starts. The second-year starter also took five sacks and scrambled for 10 yards on his only real rushing attempt. (The other came on a fumbled exchange with the center that McCarthy recovered.)

2025 Fantasy Football Impact

Green Bay's defense sports talent and has played well through stretches of this season. But it was also down to 14th in pass-defense DVOA heading into Sunday's contest.

McCarthy, meanwhile, has seen his passer rating and adjusted yards per pass attempt decline each of the past three games. (The "adjustment" takes TDs and INTs into account.)

Here's how those numbers of looked in his four games back from the Week 2 high-ankle sprain:

Week	Opp	Adj YPA	Rating
9	DET	5.52	82.6
10	BAL	4.24	54.5
11	CHI	2.50	47.7
12	GB	-0.16	34.2

Those are numbers Anthony Richardson could laugh at. And things could actually get worse in Week 13.

Minnesota heads to Seattle next Sunday to face a defense that ranks fourth in total DVOA and fourth against the pass.

The Seahawks have tallied the league's fourth-most sacks to date and sit tied for eighth in INTs (with 9).

McCarthy and the Vikings get much more favorable matchups with Washington, Dallas, and the Giants after that. But don't expect the Minnesota QB to land anywhere near fantasy-starter territory.

Dynasty Impact

It's too early to give up on McCarthy for the long term. But don't go targeting him as a buy-low. Unless you're just looking for someone Zach Wilson can commiserate with on your bench.

We'll see how the Vikings treat the position after the season.

Matt Schauf, Editor

Matt has earned two Fantasy Pros accuracy awards for IDP rankings and won thousands of dollars as a player across best ball, dynasty, and high-stakes fantasy formats. He has been creating fantasy football content for more than 20 years, with work featured by Sporting News, Rotoworld, Athlon, Sirius XM, and others. He's been with Draft Sharks since 2011.