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Sports

Kevin O’Connell Did Clarify a Key Detail in Vikings’ QB Battle

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J.J. McCarthy talks with Kevin O’Connell on the Vikings sideline during the game against the Falcons.
Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) discusses strategy with head coach Kevin O’Connell on Sep 14, 2025, during first-half play against the Atlanta Falcons at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. The two reviewed adjustments on the sideline as the rookie continued gaining command of the offense under O’Connell’s guidance in the early stages of his first NFL season. Mandatory Credit: Matt Krohn-Imagn Images.

Kevin O’Connell doesn’t foresee a scenario where this thing goes down to the wire. Ideally, the Vikings will shift the workload more and more to the QB1 so as to better prepare the successful combatant. Or, at least, that’s the plan.

The Vikings’ skipper did a press conference last week, allowing him to explain that he’s hoping the competition between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy gets settled before too long. “Those guys both know,” O’Connell clarified, “we have a plan in place to make sure that the decision we make that is going to be about what’s best for the Minnesota Vikings. And the timeline of that does involve making sure that we get our starter ready to go.”

Not too long afterwards, Coach O’Connell foreshadowed giving the upcoming winner “ample time” to prepare for Week 1.

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Later on, O’Connell did say that the team could start shifting a heartier workload over to a specific guy in training camp and/or the preseason to further glean evidence about who deserves the top job. Across the reflections, O’Connell tied the individual ability of these two passers to being able to make the team better. That will be the key, folks. Whoever proves capable of allowing the team to compete will win the individual job.

Kevin O’Connell Wants Passer Battle Decided with Time to Spare

Most think that Kyler Murray is the leader in the clubhouse. And, to be sure, there’s good reason for that belief.

Consider as a basic starting point the reality that Murray has proven to be a tremendously-accurate passer in the NFL. Boasting a 67.1% completion rate means being unusually accurate. In the past, Kevin O’Connell has clarified that accuracy is the top criteria to be his quarterback. Murray isn’t the world’s best fit for the scheme but he does fulfill that basic ability that the HC so desperately desires.

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Kyler Murray warms up before a Cardinals road game against the Seahawks at CenturyLink Field.
Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) warms up near midfield following the national anthem before a road matchup against the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field in Seattle on Dec. 22, 2019. Murray prepared for the NFC West contest during his rookie campaign as Arizona closed out the regular season against a familiar division rival in primetime conditions. Mandatory Credit: Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports.

Meanwhile, McCarthy was struggling to complete passes with regularity last year, finishing his debut season as a starter with a 57.6% completion rate.

Do note, though, a few details. Per NFL Next Gen Stats, McCarthy’s expected completion percentage came in at a considerably healthier 62.8%. Consider, as well, that McCarthy’s final five games of the season featured the kid completing 64.1% of his passes, pointing toward the growth he demonstrated over the season.

So, there’s good reason for some optimism about where his game is going.

Kevin O’Connell is going to get the final call on who becomes the starter. He will, nevertheless, get plenty of feedback from trusted voices such as OC Wes Phillips and QB coach Josh McCown (among others). Nolan Teasley will surely have an opinion, but he’ll need to trust his coaching staff with the final call.

Kevin O'Connell speaks with Vikings cornerback Tavierre Thomas on the sideline before a preseason game against the Houston Texans.
Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell chats with cornerback Tavierre Thomas before kickoff at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minn., Aug. 9, 2025, as the Vikings prepare to face the Houston Texans during preseason action. O’Connell surveys warmups while addressing Thomas along the sideline inside the stadium moments before the game begins. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.

Best guess on this end of things is that the end of August is a soft deadline for making the final decision. The Week 1 Packers game gets rolling on Sunday, September 13th. Finishing off the competition by the end of August (at the latest) would mean giving the QB1 a minimum of a two-week runway to prepare.

Fans get welcomed to training camp beginning on August 1st.

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Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.

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Berlin Open: Aryna Sabalenka beaten by Jessica Pegula after losing third set 6-0

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Aryna Sabalenka lost another deciding set without winning a game as an impressive Jessica Pegula beat the world number one to reach the Berlin Open final.

Belarusian Sabalenka never looked settled against Pegula, who recovered from losing a tight second set to come through 6-4 6-7 (4-7) 6-0.

American Pegula had lost five of her past six matches against Sabalenka but her flat shots and superb return of serve anchored her performance this time around.

For Sabalenka it is another disappointing deciding-set performance, having lost the third set of her French Open quarter-final 6-0 after squandering a set and double break lead.

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Pegula had fought back from 5-2 down in the second set to force a tie-break and led 3-1 before rain delayed play for an hour.

When they returned, Sabalenka won six of the next seven points to force a deciding set – only for Pegula to dominate the top seed.

“She came out and ripped a bunch of winners and I told myself ‘I guess I wanted to win in the hard way anyway’,” Pegula, 32, said.

“I don’t get super emotional. People used to tell me when I was younger that I need to yell more and jump up and down.

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“Honestly, it feels like a waste of energy to me. I just try to be myself.”

Pegula will face either Czech Linda Noskova or Alexandra Eala of the Philippines in Sunday’s final.

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Major AEW Name Invades Former Wrestling Promotion After Getting Fired From The Company

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AEW has risen to mainstream popularity over the last few years and is now one of the top professional wrestling companies in the world. The Tony Khan-led promotion is set to host their annual Forbidden Door pay-per-view in collaboration with CMLL, New Japan Pro Wrestling and World Wonder Ring STARDOM next weekend. Ahead of the blockbuster event, the All Elite Wrestling Women’s World Champion recently attacked the STARDOM President Taro Okada.

Since 2022, All Elite Wrestling has been collaborating with New Japan Pro Wrestling and several other promotions to host the annual Forbidden Door pay-per-view. The concept behind the event is that stars from the Tony Khan led company get to face-off against wrestlers from other companies. The cross-promotional event has become an integral part of AEW’s pay-per-view calendar.

This year, the AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla is set to defend her title against STARDOM’s Starlight Kid. The match was made after the Toxic Spider disrespected the Joshi Wrestling promotion on several occasions. On a recent episode of Dynamite, Thekla spat on the STARDOM logo and has fired shots at the company’s President Taro Okada many times. This animosity stems from Thekla’s tenure in STARDOM which abruptly ended after Okada fired her.

At a recent episode of STARDOM, Thekla made a surprise appearance by attacking Taro Okada. She showed up right behind him at ringside and tried to shave his head with a trimmer. After Okada escaped her from there, she took him to the ring and whipped him several times with a leather belt. This is one of the most personal feuds heading into the Forbidden Door pay-per-view.

Fans are really excited to see if the Starlight Kid will be able to preserve STARDOM’s honor at Forbidden Door by defeating Thekla.

AEW Women’s World Champion Thekla confirms that she’ll never be a babyface

Ever since her debut in the Jacksonville-based company last year, Thekla has been dominating the whole roster. She captured the Women’s World title from Kris Statlander earlier this year in a brutal strap match and has been terrorising the Women’s division ever since.

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Ahead of her upcoming title defense against Starlight Kid, she recently appeared in an interview with the Sal Licata Show. During the interview, the Toxic Spider revealed that she doesn’t ever plan on turning babyface.

“I was never going to be a babyface either, so ‘toxic’ is just like—you know—it tells you, ‘Be aware, danger.’ That’s me… I’m just an a**hole, man. I don’t like playing by rules. I don’t like bending down to authority. I’m just a little bit of a p**ck—and I’m having fun with that. And I think people like to watch me have fun being a p**ck. So there you have it,” she said.

Thekla is one of the best heels in AEW right now and it would’ve been very unusual to see her play the role of a babyface.