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For the second straight week, the Minnesota Vikings have to start their backup quarterback. That's not necessarily a bad thing for the Vikings, according to the coach of Minnesota's next opponent. Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike Tomlin told reporters Tuesday why starting Carson Wentz instead of the young J.J. McCarthy presents different challenges for him and his defense. 

"That certainly has our attention," Tomlin said. "He's a grizzly veteran. Oftentimes, particularly when you have a young, inexperienced quarterback, there's some big-time benefits of playing with a vet backup. The veteran guy oftentimes does the intangible components of the job very well...

"They oftentimes are able to carry more schematic responsibility and so forth at the line of scrimmage. So, I don't necessarily view it as a negative thing for the Minnesota Vikings, at least in the short term, that Carson is playing for them."

Tomlin said during a matchup last season against the Indianapolis Colts that he instructed his defense to keep injury-prone quarterback Anthony Richardson "upright" so the veteran Joe Flacco couldn't come in and force the Steelers to change their game plan.

Wentz completed 14 of 20 passes for 173 yards and two touchdowns in last week's Vikings' 48-10 dismantling of the Cincinnati Bengals. The veteran signal-caller didn't have to do much in what turned into a blowout victory, but it's fair to expect he can provide more consistency for the offense than McCarthy. 

The last time McCarthy started, he threw for 158 yards, zero touchdowns and two interceptions while taking six sacks and losing a fumble in a 16-point loss to the Atlanta Falcons. The 22-year-old suffered an ankle injury in the loss, and is expected to miss some time. If Wentz scores another victory for Minnesota in Ireland, coach Kevin O'Connell could have a tough decision to make.