J.J. McCarthy

Everyone wrote him off, and he didn't write back. Last week, J.J. McCarthy had a nice bounce-back game that hopefully serves as a building block for the rest of the season as the QB9 in weekly scoring. It was his second QB1 outing of the season. Last week, among 29 quarterbacks with at least ten dropbacks, McCarthy ranked 13th in yards per attempt, fourth in highly accurate throw rate, seventh in catchable target rate, and third in hero throw rate. McCarthy could be a QB1 again this week. Since Week 10, Dallas has allowed the second-most passing yards per game, the tenth-highest yards per attempt, the third-highest passer rating, and the eighth-highest CPOE. McCarthy will have to deal with a defense that, during that same span, has ranked fourth in pressure rate. If he can navigate pressure this week, he could stack another strong game.

J.J. McCarthy completed 16-of-23 passes for 163 yards and three touchdowns in the Vikings' 31-0 win over the Commanders. He also ran six times for 19 yards.

Fantasy Impact

This was arguably McCarthy's best performance as a professional quarterback. From start to finish, he led the Vikings' offense competently and with confidence. He struggled a bit with touch on his passes, but that is nothing new. If he can keep up this sort of play, he should be a usable asset down the stretch as a streaming option.