The Vikings got a spark this past weekend thanks to the return of their young quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who had missed the previous five games with a high ankle sprain.
Heading into their game against the Lions at Ford Field, the Vikings were coming off a disheartening blowout loss to the Chargers which saw backup quarterback Carson Wentz take a beating to the tune of five sacks and Minnesota fall to 3–4 on the season—more losses than it endured in the entire 2024 regular season.
On the Saturday before the matchup, the Vikings captains took it upon themselves to ask coach Kevin O’Connell to speak to the team.
Running back Aaron Jones, one of Minnesota’s eight captains and in his second year with the team, spoke to Sports Illustrated on behalf of Hormel Black Label Bacon and Frank’s Red Hot ahead of the #Oneverythingchallenge livestream on Nov. 11. Jones detailed that his message to the team was to, “Let them know we got to play. Got to go out there and play with confidence, play fast and physical. And when you make a play, get up and celebrate it, celebrate with your teammates, celebrate with each other. We can't wait for something good to happen to us. We got to go make it happen.”
McCarthy also spoke to the team, detailing that he couldn’t sleep before the game because he felt like he “was catching this glare from a silver platter of this juicy opportunity right on top of it. That’s what I told the guys. This opportunity is something we’ve been asking for and praying for ever since we started wearing pads.”
For McCarthy, this wasn’t just an important divisional game in Detroit, but the third start of his career after missing his rookie season with a torn meniscus and then more time in his sophomore year because of the sprained ankle.
“You could just see in his eyes [he’s] hungry, hungry to go make plays, excited to be back out there with the guys,” Jones told SI.
“He’s been through a lot,” Jones also said. “He missed all last year, then came and played, what, two games and got banged up. So he’s been through a lot. It weighs on you when you’re not able to be out there and that’s really what you've been working towards your offseason, your OTAs, your training camps—everything is geared toward Sunday. And when it’s taken away from you, it hurts a little bit.”
Jones was dealing with a hamstring injury that landed him on injured reserve and kept him out for much of the same time McCarthy was sidelined with a high ankle sprain. Throughout their time working through these injuries this season, Jones got to spend significant time with the second-year quarterback and witness how McCarthy remained prepared for when he finally returned to the field.
“You see him still taking those mental reps even when we're out at practice,” Jones said. “Maybe he can't go through practice, but he can sit there and take those drop back steps from behind the quarterback and get those reps. And you see him doing that every time. You see him still asking those questions in the meeting as if he was about to play, or guiding the meetings as if he was still playing.”
That time off the field also led to McCarthy cultivating an alter-ego when he takes the field he calls “nine,” best encapsulated by the intense expressions McCarthy displays on game day.
“Nine” certainly showed up on Sunday, with McCarthy quickly firing touchdown passes to Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson to give the Vikings an early lead. Sure, there were some errant throws, five sacks and a number of plays McCarthy felt he could have executed better, but it was nothing out of the ordinary for a young quarterback making just his third start. After all, when the Vikings had the chance to clinch the game, McCarthy came through, delivering a strike to Jalen Nailor to seal the victory and snap the Lions’ five-game losing streak against them.
Defeating the Lions was always going to be a celebratory affair for Minnesota, but after all the injuries and time on the sidelines for McCarthy, it made the moment the team cheered him on as he entered the locker room after the game all the more jubilant.
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