What We Learned About the MN Vikings' QB Situation vs Texans

Yahoo

a day ago

The Minnesota Vikings got off to a strong preseason start on Saturday afternoon, defeating the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium 20-10, in what is expected to be the starters' only appearance of the three-game exhibition slate.
Well, on one side of the ball anyway. Most of the top defensive players sat out, but nearly all of the Vikings starting offense — minus Justin Jefferson, Christian Darrisaw and Aaron Jones — was on the field for Minnesota's first drive of the game, including redshirt rookie QB, JJ McCarthy.
JJ McCarthy has up and down drive vs Texans
Those available for the Vikings' offense even included a few Vikings who have been nursing training camp injuries — Will Fries, Ryan Kelly and TJ Hockenson. The result of that initial offensive drive, which lasted 13 plays, 6:03 minutes and went for 58 yards, ended in 3 points for the Vikings thanks to a Will Reichard 48-yard field goal.
Related Headlines
One-Time Vikings Starter Done for Season After Scary Injury
Former MN Twins Swap Roster Spots on New Team
Former GM Admits MN Twins Can't Keep Top Tier Talent
It was far from perfect but, overall, McCarthy operated efficiently and made a couple of big plays, including one 4th down scramble for a first down and another 18 yard throw with lots of anticipation to Jordan Addison, who caught three of JJ's passes, in total.
When McCarthy's 2025 preseason debut came to an end, he was 4-of-7 for 30 yards passing, to go along with his 10 yard 4th down scramble. Interestingly, most of his success came when he used play action from under center. Out of the shotgun, JJ was just 1 of 3 for 10 yards.
He did have one missed opportunity that stands out. It came on 3rd down, just before his aforementioned scramble. McCarthy had WR Lucky Jackson breaking free about 15 yards down the field on an in-breaking route.
The 22-year-old went through his progressions beautifully, had good protection, made the right read, threw with anticipation (again)… but just missed the throw high and out front. These are the throws in the regular season that JJ McCarthy needs to hit on 98% of the time.
Sam Howell bounces back after tough start to MN Vikings camp
The next man up, after McCarthy's one-and-done drive was 24-year-old veteran, Sam Howell, who the Minnesota Vikings traded for during the NFL Draft. It was a big day for Howell, after he struggled mightily to start training camp.
But after struggling to operate the offense in practice, Howell looked like a QB who was poised and under control against the Houston Texans, methodically moving the ball down the field on multiple drives.
When the dust settled on Howell's day, following about two quarters of play, he was 11-of-13 for 105 yards with 0 touchdowns, 0 interceptions and a 100.3 QB rating.
Related:
The former UNC standout, who comes into the 2025 season with 18 NFL starts under his belt, ran the offense efficiently and effectively, getting through his progressions and delivering footballs with accurately.
Max Brosmer balls out in his Minnesota Vikings debut
As mentioned, Howell is only 24 years old, which happens to be the same age as former Minnesota Gophers QB, Max Brosmer, whose showing this afternoon may have been even more impressive than his new teammate's
Much like he did during his only collegiate season in Dinkytown, Brosmer looked calm, cool and collected in the pocket on Saturday, quickly rifling through reads before making on-time and on target throws, or tucking it down to take off.
He attempted only 8 passes on the day, completing 5 of them, including some notable ones, including two on the same drive to Myles Price, one of which was a TD. Brosmer ended his day with 47 yards passing and that beautiful touchdown pass we just mentioned.
After Sam Howell's impressive preseason debut for the Vikings, fans breathed a sigh of relief. After weeks of worry that Minnesota was in trouble at QB2, the four year veteran calmed those fears on Saturday.
In fact, after today's preseason game against the Texans, it's starting to feel like we might have an embarrassment of riches in that room.
Brett Rypien's time in Minnesota drawing to an end??
29-year-old veteran Brett Rypien also got some playing time today. His day did not go as well as the other three Minnesota Vikings quarterbacks, as he finished 1-of-4 for 6 yards. Rypien also took the Vikings' only two sacks on the day.
Prior to this week, it was Sam Howell who many wondered would make the team. After one preseason game, it appears as if Brett Rypien needs to have an incredible finish to training camp if he wants any sort of roster spot in the regular season.
We know both Rypien and Brosmer will get a ton of playing time in the MN Vikings final two preseason games. If the first is any indication of how those will go, Brett's time in the Land of 10,000 Lakes may be coming to a close.
Related:
Meanwhile, should Max continue to play well, sneaking him onto the practice squad may be a lot more difficult than originally anticipated. No matter, it does appear as if Vikings fans have less to worry about at the QB position, entering week two of the preseason, than anytime since the start of the 2025 offseason.
Related Headlines
One-Time Vikings Starter Done for Season After Scary Injury
Former MN Twins Swap Roster Spots on New Team
Former GM Admits MN Twins Can't Keep Top Tier Talent