Forty-five minutes from the Big House, a Michigan Man fearlessly entered the Lions Den.

In his third career game Sunday, young Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy returned from a high-ankle sprain that sidelined him six weeks and led Minnesota to its fourth win of 2025 and first versus Detroit since 2022. It was an all-up win, with contributions on defense and special teams, through and through.

McCarthy's performance in the 27-24 win, however, felt particularly sublime.

Because he's waited a particularly long time.

"It was awesome, yeah, just when you're hurt, being on IR last year and being out for five [games this year] absolutely kills me – not being out there with those guys, because I love every single one of them. And, you know, I know they got my back and I got theirs the rest of the way," a choked-up McCarthy said to reporters while wearing a light blue, short-sleeve button-up shirt – the type you'd see a mechanic wearing at an auto shop; and one perfectly embodying McCarthy's character – that he received from his college head coach Jim Harbaugh at the University of Michigan as a token of his blue-collared mentality.

The postgame attire was mindfully selected and felt unbelievably on-brand as he spoke from the heart.

"I love this state. I love everything that went into cultivating and crafting who I am as an individual, who I am as a football player," McCarthy expressed. "And it's just something that I wanted to show tribute to."

McCarthy was workmanlike in so many aspects at Ford Field, and especially with the outcome at stake.

"J.J. made one of the best throws of the day when we absolutely needed it," Head Coach Kevin O'Connell said after the shocking the 2024 division champs in a game Minnesota was listed as 9.5-point underdogs.

On a third-and-5 with 1:41 left, O'Connell trusted McCarthy to make a catchable throw to advance the chains and seal Detroit's fate. In a flash, he held a shotgun snap, surveyed the field in his drop back and flicked a back-shoulder pass to Jalen Nailor, who leapt in the air and contorted his body to secure a 16-yard reception – effectively for the win. Three kneel-downs later, Minnesota (4-4) reclaimed .500 status.

"I think just his overall demeanor is such a positive throughout the game," O'Connell said about the 22-year-old McCarthy. "He just seems to — if anything, sometimes, he gets really excited. He's competitive. This guy's a winner. And he's now – twice this year – really found ways to win under some unique circumstances on the road in the NFC North. This is a tough place to come play."

In a three-game sampling, McCarthy has won NFC Player of the Week accolades for his terrific come-from-behind effort in his pro debut, toughed out a tough day, after sustaining the ankle injury in his first home appearance, and now has knocked off the Lions (5-3), who were previously undefeated at home.

O'Connell noted afterward "he will only get better and better."

"My confidence level, regardless of the circumstances of the season, I boil it down to one opportunity and that game is 60 minutes," O'Connell said, emphasizing his trust in everyone. "I tell our guys all the time from the first play to the last, we just need to have the competitive stamina to continue to hold up and do the things required to beat good football teams, and this is certainly one of them here in Detroit."

Minnesota didn't run a ton of plays on offense (59 compared to 62 for Detroit), but the unit was decisive and more balanced. McCarthy leaned into the power of completions at critical times, such as finding Jordan Addison for a 31-yard hookup on a third-and-9 on the second Vikings series, which enabled him to roll to his right and deliver a cross-body dot to T.J. Hockenson for a 7-yard TD on the subsequent snap.

Myles Price also ignited the offense in several instances, racking up 164 yards on five kick returns, including a 61-yard runback that set up McCarthy and the group for success on Minnesota's first drive.

The backfield was tremendous, too.

Running backs Aaron Jones, Sr., and Jordan Mason toted the rock 19 times combined for 114 yards. The bulk of that was produced by Jones (78 on nine attempts), who doubled as impactful in the passing game, taking a pair of catches 20 yards, before departing early in the second half with a shoulder injury.

The quarterback used his athleticism to the Vikings advantage, as well. Similar to Week 1, when McCarthy punched in a decisive touchdown with his feet on a read-option in the fourth quarter at Chicago, the touchdown that gave Minnesota a 10-point lead Sunday that proved insurmountable was a scrambling effort from 9 yards. McCarthy ran 9 times total for 12 (including kneel-downs) and that TD.

Addison also chipped in on the ground, with a sweet 16-yard rush on an end-around.

The third-year wideout topped all Vikings players with 48 yards receiving. Justin Jefferson had a team-high six catches on nine targets for 47, including a 10-yarder for points that he clenched with one paw on a line-drive fade pass in the end zone, and Nailor made his lone reception count for much more than 16.

When the first half was winding to a close, seven-time Super Bowl Champion quarterback and the television analyst for Sunday's call of the game, Tom Brady, said McCarthy was handling three things well: getting the play and its intent across to teammates in the huddle, setting up the operation correctly at the line of scrimmage and throwing from a good foundation – his feet and his eyes aimed at his target.

Considerable praise for McCarthy extended into the FOX NFL Sunday halftime show when Gold Jacket pass rusher Michael Strahan saluted McCarthy's distinct leadership, composure and toughness.

They were on display in spades. In the first 30 minutes, and in the final 30.

McCarthy was 10-for-16 passing with 85 yards, two touchdowns and a pick at the break. In the second half, he went 4-for-9. Overall, he had a 56 percent completion rate, 143 yards and a passer rating of 82.6.

His interception came at a bad spot, handing the Lions the ball back close to midfield with three timeouts shortly before halftime, but Minnesota's defense responded with a timely three-and-out.

What McCarthy maybe lacked in grandeur statistics, he made up for tenfold in big moments.

He kickstarted the afternoon in the Motor City zealously, releasing a beautiful, front-pylon deep ball to Addison on his first pass attempt since Sept. 14. Although Addison didn't hang on, it foreshadowed the young quarterback's ability – and confidence – to let it rip when Minnesota needed a spark offensively.

As well as when the Vikings were in a fairly predictable scenario on the third-and-5 that iced the game.

"I'm happy that we got the win, but I'm not proud, to be honest with you," McCarthy offered. "There's a lot of meat on the bone, and I feel like I could have played a lot better. But coming into this environment and controlling my emotions, controlling kind of my temperament going into it – I was proud of that."

McCarthy cited fewer self-inflicted mistakes, procedural penalties to be specific, as a positive takeaway, even if more items can be cleaned up. Additionally, he was sacked five times, granted a couple were the result of him inaccurately gauging the closing speed of defenders and holding onto the ball outside the pocket.

"Nothing's easy in the NFL, so even plays where he looked decisive, that's just him playing the position and finding completions. I thought that early Jordan Addison conversion was a big-time play on a third down," O'Connell said. "And then just as the game went on, you feel a little bit of the normal ebbs and flows of a game where if, I think he will continue to learn to just stay totally present and level in each moment and just continue to work and make up for a lot of lost time in these situations to be able to just consistently do his job with technique, fundamentals [and] how accurate [we can be]."

McCarthy shared in a postgame interview with Brady that he noticed Nailor, a.k.a. "Speedy," in a 1-on-1 matchup and trusted that his receiver was ready for the kind of moment typically reserved for Jefferson.

"You know, I told Speedy ever since the beginning of the season that he's going to make his mark," McCarthy added at his press conference. "Every single day, every single game, he's always doing the dirty work. He's always doing everything right. And when I saw him manned up and Coach O'Connell gave us that confidence to go convert on that play, I knew it was meant to be and I knew it was his moment."

View the 2025 Vikings Schedule.

See the Vikings 2026 Opponents.

Check out the Vikings 2026 Draft Picks.

View future opponents for the Vikings.

Buy single game tickets.

Download the official Vikings App.