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The little glimpses of potential greatness are so tantalizing. They demonstrate the talent J.J. McCarthy possesses — the same traits that made him a top 10 pick just two years ago. McCarthy evaded pressure in the first quarter of Saturday’s preseason bout with Baltimore, stepped up and launched a 50-50 ball that Tai Felton ripped down from the sky for a 50-yard gain to move Minnesota into the red zone. “I thought that was a really nice job climbing and giving Tai a chance,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said. The next play, McCarthy checked down to Demond Claiborne for seven yards to set up second-and-goal from the 3 yard line. OK, now he’s rolling — or not. The next two passes were a pair of short-target lasers that singed the fingertips of McCarthy’s intended targets. The last of which was a layup — a wide-open Myles Price in the flat on fourth down. McCarthy fired a fastball just too high that it gave Price no time to adjust to make a slightly off-target grab. Minnesota turned the ball over on downs. Those gimmes have proven over the last year-plus to be anything but with the Vikings’ young quarterback. Touch and accuracy continue to evade McCarthy at critical points — even, at times, on the simplest of throws. Saturday’s game opened with McCarthy misfiring on an open out route to Price that could’ve been a quick chain mover. McCarthy completed 50% of his attempts against Baltimore — more of the same from what we witnessed a fall ago. Yes, more contested or challenging catches could’ve been made. But why must everything be so difficult all the time? “I have to go look at them,” O’Connell said of the incompletions. “Sometimes there’s some pressure in your face, sometimes it’s a throw that we can hit nine times out of 10.” Those misses are as hindering to an offense’s success as penalties or struggles with pass protection. McCarthy has quarterbacked seven drives over two exhibition dates, and Minnesota has zero points to show for them. In comparison, Kyler Murray led a field-goal drive in his one series against the New York Giants, and Carson Wentz has produced points on three of his six non-game-ending possessions. Wentz entered the affair Saturday and, for the second straight week, outplayed McCarthy, completing 9 of 11 passes for 92 yards under similar duress from the Baltimore pass rush. If there weren’t a competition for backup quarterback heading into the preseason, there should be one now. It was a surprise McCarthy only saw one quarter of action Saturday. If the 23-year-old simply needed more reps to get to where the team ultimately needs him to be to run the offense, that game seemed like another opportune time to stack them up. O’Connell noted he would’ve liked to get the third-year signal caller one more series, but McCarthy was slightly hobbled by a hit. So he decided to end the quarterback’s day. O’Connell said McCarthy “seemed to be fine,” but it was another instance in which the quarterback’s snaps were limited by an injury concern — another carry over theme from the 2025 campaign. As each start, and each season, continues to present the same results — and the same persistent problems — it does look more and more as though this is simply who McCarthy is at this juncture of his career. And that player simply isn’t ready to run an NFL offense at a high level. Because successful drives, and overall games, require more than the occasional splash play, no matter how special it may be. Being a true field general at this level demands making the routine look … routine. Will that come with time? The Vikings’ answer to that question may very well decide McCarthy’s long-term fate in Minnesota.