Regret's a funny thing. Sometimes it takes years to realize you've made a mistake. Other times, all it takes is one Monday night in November.
When Jaxson Dart went down with a season-ending knee injury in Week 2, the New York Giants sent a fifth-round pick to the Minnesota Vikings for J.J. McCarthy, a former top-10 pick who had apparently overstayed his welcome. He had become more internet meme than franchise quarterback with the whole NINE bit, so it's not like Vikings fans were exactly heartbroken to see him go.
Since arriving in East Rutherford, the 23-year-old has gone 2-0 as Big Blue's starter, helping John Harbaugh's squad climb to 5-2-1 and first place in the NFC East. Not too shabby for a guy who essentially cost a bag of footballs.
Meanwhile, Minnesota spent Monday night getting embarrassed by the Buffalo Bills, losing 23-6 in a game that featured some of the worst QB play you'll ever have the displeasure of watching. And considering Kevin O'Connell is supposed to be some sort of quarterback whisperer, watching McCarthy thrive elsewhere while the Vikings' QB room is falling apart in real time is a truly hilarious development.
Vikings might want a do-over on their J.J. McCarthy trade with Giants
I don't know what Carson Wentz was doing Monday night, and I'm not entirely convinced he (or anyone else) does, either.
The 11-year vet completed only eight of his 25 passes for 81 yards, two interceptions, and an 8.9 passer rating. Eight. Point. Nine. He couldn't even get a screen pass to superstar wide receiver Justin Jefferson, resulting in a fumble recovered by the Bills. If you haven't seen the play, do yourself a favor.
Unfortunately for Minny, they also don't have any answers on the roster. Kyler Murray is nursing a hamstring injury after an underwhelming start to the season. Wentz was benched for backup to the backup, Max Brosmer, on Monday. And the Vikings are reportedly back in the QB market with Tuesday's trade deadline hours away.
Gee, if only they had a young quarterback with first-round pedigree sitting around somewhere.
McCarthy hasn't been perfect, but he's already looked more comfortable under Harbs than he ever did with O'Connell. In two-plus games, the former Michigan standout has completed 63.2% of his passes for 622 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Far from elite, but it beats an 8.9 passer rating.
And because the football gods love a good laugh, there's another wrinkle to this unfolding story of buyer's remorse.
If the season ended today, the third-seeded G-Men would play host to the sixth-seeded Vikings at MetLife Stadium in the Wild Card round. Imagine trading away your former potential franchise QB for a fifth-round pick, only to have him standing between you and a playoff victory just a few months later. I love football.
Nine solid quarters of football don't make McCarthy the second coming of Eli Manning. There's still plenty to figure out, especially with Dart eventually coming back from injury. But Minnesota gave up on its former No. 10 pick awfully fast, and the early returns are doing O'Connell and Co. no favors.
At this point, the Vikings might be wishing they could make like Cher and turn back time to pretend this whole thing never happened. Good luck finding anyone in Minnesota who saw this coming just a few weeks ago.
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