Atlanta Falcons' Raheem Morris Has High Praise for J.J. McCarthy Before Vikings Clash

FLOWERY BRANCH, Ga – The Atlanta Falcons will look to avoid an 0-2 start to their 2025 NFL season on Sunday, but they will have to travel to take on a difficult Minnesota Vikings team. The Vikings, fresh off a 14-3 2024-25 campaign, kicked off their season with a 27-24 come-from-behind win over the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football.

They outscored their division rivals 21-7 in the final quarter of the game, erasing an 11-point deficit in the process, with a new face leading from under center, J.J. McCarthy.

The 22-year-old quarterback looked a little shaky at first in his NFL debut on Monday. The Vikings, who saw the potential in the young quarterback despite a lack of experience, chose to let veteran Sam Darnold walk in free agency.

By the end of the third quarter, there were surely some worries sweeping through the Viking fanbase as their future quarterback had amassed just 56 yards passing and the offense still had not converted a single third down in eight attempts.

By the end of the game, it was a different story. McCarthy completed 13-of-20 passes for 143 yards, but became the first quarterback in NFL history to account for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter of his NFL debut.

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As far as his slow start, Raheem Morris says he doubts the young quarterback cares.

“I don't think J.J. looks at it like that at all,” he said. “I think J.J. looks at it like he won the football game, and that's his only job.”

For his late-game heroics, McCarthy garnered NFC Player of the Week honors, and Morris was impressed by what he saw from the first-time NFL starter.

“He's a winner. He's a proven winner,” the Falcons head coach said about McCarthy’s Week 1 performance. “He's gone out and won at the collegiate level, [and now] his first game as a pro. I think he just goes out and just plays football and does what he's supposed to do.

“Everybody knows in this game there's going to be ups and downs. It doesn't matter how he started. It's really how he finished. He threw a game-winning touchdown. He sealed it in a four-minute drive and was able to go out there and find a way to win that football game. That's really what's most important. That's ultimately great quarterback play when you talk about those things.”

McCarthy led the 2023 Michigan Wolverines to a national championship victory against Michael Penix Jr and the Washington Huskies, but that was also the last time he stepped foot onto a football field.

In the 609 days in between starts, he was a top-10 pick alongside Penix and proceeded to miss the 2024 season with a knee injury he picked up last summer. Monday's game showed exactly why the Vikings organization had so much faith in him.

For Atlanta, the challenge is not just McCarthy’s poise, but slowing an offense loaded with Justin Jefferson and a creative scheme under Kevin O’Connell.

“He [Justin Jefferson]'s always going to be a problem,” Morris said. “[He is] obviously, an elite player in this league, one of the best, if not the best,” Morris said. “[Jordan] Addison's not far behind. Obviously, he's not playing this week, but it's a well-orchestrated offense. Got so much respect for Kevin Connell and what they do.”

Addison, who is suspended for this game, will be unavailable, but the Falcons will need to be fully aware of the vast array of options McCarthy will have available. On top of that, the Vikings will have one of the game’s brightest young coaches in Kevin O’Connell.

For the Falcons, Sunday isn’t just about bouncing back from a narrow loss to Tampa. It’s a chance to prove their defense can rise to the moment against the NFL’s newest young quarterback.