J.J. McCarthy is unlikely to start the Minnesota Vikings' regular-season opener and Saturday probably didn't change that. But McCarthy, the 10th overall draft pick in his NFL preseason debut, gave the Vikings a lot to look forward to in a 24-23 win over the Las Vegas Raiders.
McCarthy made some mistakes, most notably a bad interception on his first drive, but rebounding from that mistake adds to the positive vibes from McCarthy's performance. He had some fantastic throws.
McCarthy played a bit past the halfway mark of the third quarter, and completed 11 of 17 passes for 188 yards and two touchdowns.