It’ll be a battle of backup quarterbacks Sunday when Minnesota takes on Cincinnati. The Vikings announced Monday afternoon that starting QB J.J. McCarthy is ‘out’ of their Week 3 home game against the Bengals due to a high-ankle sprain sustained in a 22-6 home loss vs. Atlanta on Sunday night.
Therefore, Carson Wentz will get the starting nod opposite of Cincinnati’s Jake Browning, who will be replacing Joe Burrow, who is out until at least mid-December due to a toe injury.
McCarthy is expected to be out for 2-4 weeks, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Also, RB Aaron Jones is ‘doubtful’ vs. Cincinnati due to a hamstring issue.
In his first career start at Chicago, McCarthy completed 13-of-20 passes for 143 yards and two TDs with one interception to help Minnesota rally for a 27-24 win. However, the University of Michigan product hit only 11-of-21 throws for 158 yards with a pair of interceptions vs. the Falcons.
Wentz is playing for his sixth team in the last six seasons. He took first-team reps last Thursday when McCarthy was excused from practice to join his fiancee for the birth of their first son.
“He was really impressive last week,” said Minnesota head coach Kevin O’Connell about Wentz. “Kind of stepping in, you felt the better presence in the command. He’s really smart, a guy that’s played a lot of football, and he’s been able to get himself to a place where he’s felt very comfortable these past two weeks had he needed to go in the football game. And now he’ll get a week of preparation to get ready to go play.”
The 32-year-old Wentz has started only twice in the last two years, but he started seven times for Washington in 2022. He started all 17 games in Indianapolis in 2021.
Wentz has 94 career regular-season starts with his teams posting a 47-46-1 record. He has completed 62.7 percent of his passes for 22,410 career passing yards with a 153/67 touchdown-to-interception ratio.
Wentz also has 1,418 career rushing yards, 11 TDs and a 4.0 yards-per-carry average.
With the news about McCarthy, most books have adjusted Minnesota from a 3.5-point home favorite to a 2.5-point home ‘chalk’ vs. Cincinnati. The Bengals are in the +125 neighborhood on the money line, and the total is 41.5 points.