McCarthy leads scoring drive in brief return for Vikings

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — J.J. McCarthy's return was short and solid for the Minnesota Vikings.

The quarterback, who missed all of his rookie season after tearing the meniscus in his right knee in last year's preseason opener, led a scoring drive in his only series against the Houston Texans on Saturday.

McCarthy finished 4 of 7 for 30 yards on a 13-play, 58-yard scoring drive that was capped by Will Reichard's 48-yard field goal. The 10th overall pick out of Michigan last year also scampered 8 yards for a first down on fourth-and-4 at the Texans 43 to keep the drive going.

The performance came a day shy of the one-year anniversary of McCarthy’s ill-fated Vikings debut. In that game, he threw for 188 yards and two touchdowns before suffering the injury that required season-ending surgery.

With Sam Darnold under center, the Vikings finished the regular season 14-3 before falling to the Los Angeles Rams in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs. But Darnold departed for the Seattle Seahawks this offseason in free agency and head coach Kevin O’Connell has turned the offense over to McCarthy.

The quarterback received a rousing ovation from the home crowd as he stepped under center for the first time Saturday.

The Texans then took a 10-3 lead on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Davis Mills to Braxton Berrios on their first possession.

McCarthy was replaced by backup Sam Howell when Minnesota's offense took the field for its second possession.

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