J.J. McCarthy Did A Little Dance He Wasn’t Supposed To Do

Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy is suddenly fighting back against the "sucks" allegations. Sunday night's 34-26 victory over the Cowboys was not only his second straight as a starter, but another game in which he showcased some competent quarterback play. Completing 15 of 24 passes for 250 yards, three total touchdowns, and an interception is fine. It's fine!

By the second quarter, McCarthy was feeling good enough about his performance to introduce a little dance. With the ball right on the Cowboys' goal line, the Vikings called a beautifully executed naked bootleg that left McCarthy to enjoy a solitary trot into the end zone. Blessed with all that freedom, the quarterback's zoomer instincts kicked in and he hit the griddy into the end zone.

McCarthy turned sheepish when he was asked about the celebration after the game. "Um, I did it in practice, and I was told not to do it, so just me, being who I am, it's like ooh, now I'm more enticed to do it," he said in the tone of voice of someone who just got caught doing wrestling moves in the house. "I'll definitely get a minus for that one," he added.

During his postgame press conference, head coach Kevin O'Connell was asked if McCarthy did anything "special" on the touchdown run. "I would say the finish, I would not classify as special," said O'Connell in the tone of voice of someone who just caught his kid doing wrestling moves in the house. "Um, it was entertaining, I guess we are in the entertainment business, but I would have preferred him to show that 40 time that he likes to talk about, having never run a 40 coming out, which was unique, to say the least. But as a guy who once ran a fast 40 and couldn't throw it very well, I can probably understand why quarterbacks are choosing to do that these days."

This discussion isn't over. J.J. and Kevin will have a lot more to talk about after school today, and it's looking like J.J. can forget about going on that ski trip with Josh's family.