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The Vikings improved to 2-0 on the preseason to conclude a productive week in Cleveland that featured two days of joint practices before Saturday's 27-12 victory against the Browns.

Minnesota rested almost every starter for the game after a heavy in-week workload. The Vikings will shift gears back at Twin Cities Orthopedics Performance Center this week for multiple sessions before heading to Philadelphia to close out the three-game exhibition slate.

It's obviously been a wild week since the previous Mailbag was published. One week ago today, the Vikings announced J.J. McCarthy would be withheld from participating in the night practice because of knee soreness.

Tests Tuesday revealed a torn meniscus, which Head Coach Kevin O'Connell announced just before the team departed for Cleveland. McCarthy stayed behind to undergo surgery and was placed on Injured Reserve on Friday when Minnesota added Matt Corral to the quarterbacks room.

O'Connell opted to start Nick Mullens for his first taste of preseason action and have him play the entire first half. Jaren Hall replaced Mullens and played into the fourth quarter. Corral entered the game after that and was under center in victory formation.

In addition to developing the entire roster, O'Connell also created an opportunity for Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips to call the offense and for passing game coordinator/defensive backs coach Daronte Jones and inside linebackers coach Mike Siravo to call plays on defense.

"Wes had a great flow, really did a great job preparing the guys that were going to play, a clear plan," O'Connell said. "Wes called a great game, really mixed it well, some good third down calls, put points on the board. So really want to compliment Wes. And then I thought Daronte and Siravo were, you know, it's always interesting when you're going to have two separate guys call plays with what one style is going to be, versus the other. But I thought they played off each other well."

Craig! How could that happen to J.J. McCarthy?! Do we know on which play it happened?

— Gill Sorg in New Mexico

O'Connell did say the injury was sustained in the game, but he has not specified the play.

Injuries, despite many efforts to make football as safe as possible, can occur. Cleveland had multiple players leave Saturday's game because of injuries.

McCarthy's social media post using the Latin phrase "Amor fati," which translates to "Love of fate" helps convey the spirit within him that will help him conquer his rehab process.

The Vikings are incredibly pleased with McCarthy's development process so far and feel good about his bright future.

J.J. McCarthy is out for the year. What are his limitations? Can he be at the practices? Can he use the training facilities? Can he be on the sideline on game day? Just curious.

— Gerald Goblirsch

McCarthy will be on a recovery plan, working with the Vikings Health and Performance staff.

If his mobility is limited, then he'd probably keep his distance from the sidelines for practices or games until that is not the case. Sometimes injured players watch our home games from other parts of the stadium because of that safety aspect.

There are no restrictions toward him using the facilities or attending.

"We're going to get him back with the group as fast as possible, and [it will be] great to get home and see him post-op," O'Connell said after Saturday's game. "I'm sure he'll be at the facility day and night already, in meetings and everything. We're going to really try to craft a plan for J.J. that allows him to not miss a beat, from a mental preparation and a standpoint of going through game plans throughout the season, really starting to envision what that looks like for him, as he kind of watches Sam go about it in year one of the system, as well."

In light of J.J. McCarthy being out for this year, do you think we could sign Sam Darnold to a team friendly extension?? I believe there has been some good chemistry between Sam, Justin Jefferson and Offensive Coordinator Wes Phillips. Give them the same situation of competition for the QB1 starting job.

— Tom M. in Osakis, Minnesota

The Vikings have been expressing their confidence in Darnold and saying they have been pleased with his transition to Minnesota.

I've been surprised at how consistently he has connected with Jefferson (and Jordan Addison) on deep passes during training camp. There have been some real beauties.

Of course, there are some adjustments and improvements along the way, but he's also emerged from a rough patch here or there with some high-level QB play.

Darnold is currently on a one-year deal that was signed as free agency opened (after Kirk Cousins headed to the Falcons and before drafting McCarthy). He was intentional in his decision to sign here, and there is a great opportunity ahead of him.

I would think any potential talks about future contracts would be after this season concludes.

I like what I see out of Dallas Turner. He kind of reminds me of Chris Doleman with that quickness. Now he's not as big as Chris was, but he is a little faster. A quick question how is the kid from Army, Andre Carter II, doing? He's a big guy (6-foot-6). We sure could use him pass rushing.

— Nighthawk

Liking what you see out of Turner so far is well-placed. He obviously made an impact in his preseason debut with the sack to force the Raiders field goal.

I also liked a couple of plays I saw in Thursday's joint practice against the Browns, including a nice tag-off (the teams didn't tackle each other) to stuff a run play.

Doleman obviously was a special player, making it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame by wrecking games and quarterbacks. He is missed by the Vikings family.

Carter was mentioned briefly in last week's Mailbag. He nearly picked off a Jameis Winston pass during joint practices on Thursday after dropping into coverage. I think he's looked a bit quicker and more decisive off the line.

That showed up a couple of times on Saturday, as well. He got great movement and helped create a clear lane for Brian Asamoah II to sack Dorian Thompson-Robinson for a loss of 14. Carter also hit Thompson-Robinson as he was releasing the football on the pass play intercepted by Lewis Cine.

As a 50-plus-year Vikings fan, I am used to the ups and downs of a season. As fans, we understand the possibility of injuries to our beloved players and have faith that we can make it through, but this year is starting off horribly, and I have to wonder if the Vikings are cursed. So far this year we have had a promising rookie CB tragically killed in a car accident, a starting WR get in legal trouble resulting in a possible suspension, a starting CB tears his ACL on the first day of camp, another one goes down the second day, our first-round pick QB is out for the season, and we just had another WR get carted off the practice field. I want to know who brought in the goat to the stadium (Cubs), or who did the equivalent of selling Babe Ruth to the Yankees? Was it when we brought longtime Green Bay Packer Brett Favre to the team? Or was it when we let Case Keenum (the QB with the most heart in the past decade) leave?

— Jonathan Dittmer

Jonathan proposed a multifaith cleanse and blessing to help reverse the trajectory.

There's been a sentiment through external media regarding the tough times the Vikings have experienced at the onset of this season, but most teams will deal with injuries over the course of the season.

We can all sincerely hope no other team suffers a tragic accident like the one in which Khyree Jackson died.

Keenum was so gutsy and had so many other likeable aspects that came to the forefront in 2017. It was fun to see someone that many view as a perpetual underdog have that kind of season and create so many fond memories.

I know it is just preseason, but I don't like to hear the offense is struggling in the run game. It seems like it is a continuation of last year. There is plenty of talk about how good our tackles are, but it seems like it has been a long time since we can consistently win in short-yardage rushing. Is this scheme or lack of ability?

— Dave from Illinois

Dave's email hit the inbox Thursday morning after the first day of joint practices. Cleveland's attacking defensive line was gumming up the works and getting disruptions in the backfield on Wednesday.

The Vikings and Browns didn't scheme Saturday's game, but Minnesota did have another good showing in the run game for the second consecutive preseason game.

The Vikings out-rushed the Browns 113 to 56 without playing Aaron Jones, Sr., or Ty Chandler. Kene Nwangwu averaged 6.4 yards per carry (45 on seven rushes), and Myles Gaskin averaged 5.0 per clip (45 on nine rushes).

The only offensive lineman who opened the games against Las Vegas and at Cleveland was third-year pro Ed Ingram. The Vikings have had Blake Brandel and Ed Ingram at left guard and right guard, respectively. Minnesota re-signed Dalton Risner to create competition among the trio, but Risner has missed time because of an injury.

O'Connell explained why Ingram started after the game.

"These reps are so vital. And, like I tell you guys all the time, we've got an individual plan for every player on our team, what we think based upon reps, what we think based upon getting them game ready. So I wanted to see Ed go out there," O'Connell said. "Thought he did some really good things in the run game. Pass pro, for the most part, was pretty good. We got beat on one stunt there on third down. But those are great, great reps for Ed to go out there. He was a captain today."

Las Vegas has the purple pride at +900 to win the division. Can we please shut up all these haters with some legit in-division beatdowns? I love being the counted-out underdog, but this is flat-out disrespect, and for those who think Vegas is never wrong, they had Steph Curry at an over/under of 10.5 points in the Olympics game. He passed that in the first 3 minutes of the game. Skol!!!!

— Steve in So Cal

I admittedly don't know anything about odds or the process that goes into their creation.

The Vikings have been predicted to not be in the mix for the division title this year, but I don't know that external expectations were very high in 2022, or 2017 or 2015, for that matter.

O'Connell and the team are focused on their own incremental improvements.

The highlights I watched of Curry were incredible. I was half expecting him to put on a blindfold and drain a 30-footer. It was truly a dazzling demonstration.

Is it my imagination, or are there a lot of ex Vikings in the league? Case in point, the Raiders.

— Skiman in Erie, Colorado

There have been quite a few connections with Minnesota's first two preseason opponents.

The Raiders visit marked the return of Ameer Abdullah, Alexander Mattison, Marcus Epps, Janarius Robinson and Daniel Carlson.

Cleveland's roster has Jordan Hicks, Dalvin Tomlinson, Za'Darius Smith, Hakeem Adeniji and Wyatt Davis.

Philadelphia's roster does not currently have any former Vikings.

With the roster fluidity brought by modern free agency and the salary cap, players switch teams more frequently, so I think it's almost rarer at this point to not have at least a couple of players with prior Vikings experience with each opponent.