J.J. McCarthy will be back under center this Sunday as the Vikings take on the Packers. It will be McCarthy's third straight start after he missed nearly two months earlier this season. The Vikings have lost two straight and sit at 4-6 on the season in last place in the crowded NFC North.
McCarthy is still getting his feet under him as a pro quarterback, but people are starting to lose patience. On Thursday's edition of The Pat McAfee Show, there was a pretty frank discussion about McCarthy's play as well as a debate about the quarterback's insistence that he has a second personality on the field.
"In my eyes, everybody loves J.J. McCarthy," said McAfee. "Guy’s a leader. J.J. McCarthy I’m talking about. Two characters. J.J. McCarthy off the field. This guy’s a great leader. He’s got the amount of moxie whenever he shows up everybody knows him. The aura of a starter. Obviously, the meditation, he takes care of himself. He’s all-in. Nine is who he becomes on game days. J.J. McCarthy, loved by everybody. Nine is just kind of ass on the field at this point. When Nine catches up to J.J.? Boy, Minnesota’s gonna be a problem for everybody. When’s that gonna happen?"
McAfee was talking about McCarthy's "Nine" personality, his on-field alter ego that has only completed 52.9% of his passes this season while he's thrown eight interceptions. When you're playing like that, people are less receptive to revealing you've given yourself a nickname.
"Nine" and Other McCarthy-isms
McCarthy, a Michigan Man, got to spend some time with Tom Brady during the offseason with Brady bestowing him with some of the secrets to his success. Between McCarthy and Geno Smith, you have to wonder how much Brady's QB whispering means this year, but at least he said one thing that stuck with McCarthy—He wishes he was drank more water in college. Something to think about.
As the season approached he also discussed his eyeblack:
"I kind of make this switch when game day happens," McCarthy said. "That's when the war paint comes on. It's like I'm ready to die on that field, and I'm ready to do anything possible to get that win. It's not going to look pretty, and it's not going to look like someone just did my makeup for Halloween. It's war paint."
A few weeks ago he explained his alter-ego.
#Vikings QB JJ McCarthy says he flips a switch on game day, and calls it “nine.”
“Nine comes out and I gotta understand he can’t be at his peak performance throughout three and a half hours. So, how do I find little ways on the sideline to get back to my breath, get back to my… pic.twitter.com/uOmcgUm8hn
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) November 5, 2025
“Nine comes out and I gotta understand he can’t be at his peak performance throughout three and a half hours. So, how do I find little ways on the sideline to get back to my breath, get back to my visualization that can maintain that intense competitive stamina throughout the whole game. It’s the pure will, determination to get the job done.”
McCarthy's press conference this week was a true treasure trove. He described how ready he was by comparing himself to a beverage.
"I kind of make the analogy of just a cork about to come off a bottle,"said McCarthy, who will make his sixth start of the season Sunday against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. "Just understanding that it's one to three little things that I need to change about my game that is going to make a huge difference in the outcome of every single drive in the game. So yeah, I feel like it's really close, but it all comes down to the consistency of the fundamentals."
He also explained where he was getting the reps he had missed earlier this year.
Nine says he's getting reps even when he's at home taking the dogs out 🐶🔥
(Via @Vikings) pic.twitter.com/YcU9eMCFlh
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) November 20, 2025
"It was really just the injuries that I felt kind of took away all those reps," McCarthy said, "In the constant repetition to make those a habit and make them concrete like [O'Connell] talks about. But yeah, I feel like it's just the repetitions. How many times could I go home, and every time I take the dogs out, I'm getting 10 drops each time. Little things like that where I just keep getting the reps."
And he described the science behind his play.
"You're rewiring neurological pathways," he said, "and that's not something that happens overnight. So just understanding in giving myself that grace, that patience that I might not have it today, but it's something I'm going to continue to strive after day after day, rep after rep and get to the place where we all want me to be."
This last one had Richard Sherman wondering what he was talking about.
🧠Richard Sherman on JJ McCarthy (Nine) Rewiring his Brain:
"if my QB is out there thinking about Neurological Pathways he's not going out there and executing" @Vikings #Skol https://t.co/Cd4hR607VH pic.twitter.com/EDyg50WjKe
— Intrinsic (@intrinsicvalyou) November 21, 2025
Since he was injured his entire rookie year and half this season, who knows how many other incredible thoughts and one-liners we've missed.
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