McCarthy welcomes his latest return at QB for the Vikings, this time with a clearer mind

EAGAN, Minn. (AP) — J.J. McCarthy has returned to the lineup for the Minnesota Vikings, refreshed after an injury absence to resume his much-delayed development with a better perspective on how to handle this most difficult job.

That sure sounds familiar.

After yet another reset, Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell has at least temporarily revised his expectation and strategy. The weekly game plan needs to include fewer plays, he decided, for the sake of the entire offense, not just the 22-year-old quarterback. The lower-body passing mechanics O'Connell and his staff have been working so exhaustively on with the struggling McCarthy can be shelved until spring.

“I want him to have a clear head and a clear mind to just go play,” O'Connell said, “but play with an understanding."

There's always a “but,” and in this case the Vikings and their NFL-worst minus-15 turnover margin need McCarthy to bring his decision-making more in line with how closely it can correlate to devastating interceptions.

“A lot of the mentality has changed for sure. I was just so focused on doing every rep perfect and making sure every little detail was crossed and checked off,” McCarthy said, later adding: “I’m definitely a natural overthinker, and it’s not against them. I need to do a better job of compartmentalizing those coaching points and realizing when it’s game time, it’s time to let it loose."

O'Connell has clearly had to make his own improvements this season, too. After winning the AP NFL Coach of the Year award in 2024 on the strength of his work toward the transformation of quarterback Sam Darnold's career, O'Connell has not enjoyed much carryover from that process when it comes to a prospect such as McCarthy at a very different stage.

“It’s not like I’m totally disregarding all the coaching points and all that, definitely not, but it’s just picking and choosing which ones you carry into gameday with and what’s going to be the most effective way of completing that play,” McCarthy said.

Given that McCarthy has missed 24 of a possible 30 games in his career because of the knee injury that cost him his rookie season, a sprained ankle earlier this season and a concussion last week, the current messaging from the coaching staff also includes an emphasis on remembering to slide after scrambling so he can better protect his body.

“Every single game kind of feels like you got kicked in the face by a donkey,” McCarthy said on Thursday after he was cleared from the concussion protocol. “That’s inevitable, the feeling of the whiplash and all that, so how can I avoid those situations where something catastrophic could happen — or just something ticky-tack like an ankle sprain that puts you out for six weeks?”

Though rookie Max Brosmer and 10-year veteran Carson Wentz have also contributed to this problem, the Vikings at 5.2% have the worst interception rate per pass attempt by any team in the NFL since 2009, per Sportradar data. Coincidentally, their 2010 team (5.1%) during Brett Favre’s final season with Tarvaris Jackson and Joe Webb as injury fill-ins has the second worst.

While a once-potent passing attack has gone dormant, star wide receiver Justin Jefferson has had to be patient with the quarterback development — in the prime of his career without a single playoff game win. But Jefferson said on Thursday his confidence in McCarthy remains high.

“It’s just all about him just going out there and doing stuff that he’s been doing all week. All week at practice the throws are there and accurate and the decision-making is there,” Jefferson said. “It’s just all about taking that into the game and playing freely, calm, and poised.”

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Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) looks to pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) recovers a fumble during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) lays on the ground after being sacked by Green Bay Packers defensive end Micah Parsons (1) during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Nov. 23, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

A federal law enforcement operation at an Arizona taco shop resulted in a fracas on Friday, with agents deploying pepper spray as a group of protesters tried to stop authorities.

Two agents were injured, and U.S. Rep. Adelita Grijalva was in the vicinity as protesters were sprayed. The Democratic congresswoman from Arizona took to social media, claiming she was sprayed in the face and accused immigration enforcement officers of operating without transparency or accountability.

“While I am fine, if that is the way they treat me, how are they treating other community members who do not have the same privileges and protections that I do?” she said in a statement.

It was less than a month ago that Grijalva was sworn in as the newest member of Congress. She won special election in September to fill the House seat last held by her late father.

In a video posted to social media, Grijalva said she, two members of her staff and members of the media were harassed and sprayed by agents during a federal immigration raid that local residents had interrupted “because they were afraid that they were taking people without due process, without any kind of notice.”

The video shows a man stepping in front of Grijalva, raising his arm and turning the congresswoman away as a federal agent sprays nearby protesters. Later in the video, as Grijalva continues walking in the street, a projectile is seen landing near her foot.

She said she did not know what substance she was sprayed with, but it was “still affecting” her with a cough.

Federal officials confirmed that Grijalva was not pepper sprayed and that agents with Homeland Security Investigations were targeting multiple Tucson restaurants as part of a years-long investigation into immigration and tax violations. Several search warrants were served across southern Arizona on Friday as part of the operation.

In a statement, Department of Homeland Security Assistant Secretary Tricia McLaughlin described the group gathered in Tucson as a mob. She said two agents were seriously injured during the clash and took issue with Grijalva's account of what happened.

“If her claims were true, this would be a medical marvel. But they’re not true. She wasn’t pepper sprayed. She was in the vicinity of someone who (asterisk)was(asterisk) pepper sprayed as they were obstructing and assaulting law enforcement,” McLaughlin wrote. “Presenting one’s self as a ‘Member of Congress’ doesn’t give you the right to obstruct law enforcement.”

Authorities used yellow tape to cordon off the restaurant and its parking lot as agents removed boxes from the building early Friday. By mid-morning, protesters had gathered outside with signs and whistles. Some in the group were hit with pepper spray as they tried to keep federal vehicles from leaving the area.

Tucson police said federal tactical agents responded to extract investigative special agents from the area where the protesters were gathered. After deploying chemical munitions, police said federal agents then requested emergency support from local authorities to help with exiting the area.

Grijalva thanked officers from the Tucson Police Department for “making sure everyone is safe” and stressed that the local officers had not interrupted traffic or harassed local residents. They did not make any arrests. “They were not the aggressors here,” she said.

The Arizona Democrat’s experience is the latest incident this year of members of Congress being stonewalled by or put in physical altercations with federal law enforcement officers while attempting to conduct congressional oversight. The incidents have typically involved congressional Democrats appearing at federal immigration facilities or at immigration raids.

U.S. Rep. LaMonica McIver, a New Jersey Democrat, is in an ongoing legal dispute with the Trump administration after a May altercation at a Newark immigration facility in her district. And Sen. Alex Padilla, a California Democrat, was thrown to the ground and detained by federal agents in June after appearing at a press conference for Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem.

Associated Press writer Matt Brown contributed to this report from Washington, D.C.

FILE - Rep. Adelita Grijalva, D-Ariz., speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr., File)