Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s good Sunday night in Dallas included a memorable one-yard rushing touchdown.
McCarthy faked a handoff in the second quarter and then rolled to his left to find nothing but open field in front of him for as easy a score as any player could hope to have. McCarthy had so much space that he began celebrating on his way into the end zone with his version of the “Griddy” dance that teammate Justin Jefferson has made famous.
After the 34-26 win was in the books, head coach Kevin O’Connell praised the play — “I knew the play and I knew what was happening, and the action was so good I even had to take a double take right there” — but said he “would not classify as special” the way McCarthy finished the play. The quarterback acknowledged that he knew the premature celebration would rankle his coach.
“I did it in practice, and I was told not to do it,” McCarthy said. “So, just me being who I am, it’s like, ‘Oh, I’m more enticed to do it.’ But if it’s that open, obviously just get in the end zone no matter what — and be coachable and do what my coach says. So yeah, I’ll definitely get a minus for that one.”
The win was the second in a row for the Vikings, but they were eliminated from playoff contention before kickoff. That makes McCarthy’s development even more of a focus in the final three weeks and the Vikings will prefer more reasons to celebrate even if they don’t love exactly how it unfolds.