The dream came true; the Minnesota Vikings walked into Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan, and took down the Motor City Kitties behind a great defensive performance and three touchdowns out of young quarterback J.J. McCarthy. He didn’t play perfectly, but he did exactly what the Vikings needed him to do: show flashes of what made the Vikings select him at 10th overall in the 2024 NFL Draft, and he did so in a monumental victory for the organization.
In the exhibition, J.J. McCarthy threw for a seemingly conservative 143 yards, 2 touchdowns and 1 interception for an 82.6 passer rating. The kid also added a score on the run, one similar to his game-sealing touchdown scramble that gave the Vikings a victory over the Chicago Bears in his first career NFL action.
The Vikings got everything they could’ve asked for and more: poise in the pocket, control of the situation, and plays when they needed them, most notably his third-down dagger on a back-shoulder fade to WR Jalen Nailor to send Lions fans to the nearest exits.
J.J. McCarthy Shows Flashes Against Detroit
I said earlier this week that the Vikings didn’t need to win this week in Detroit to have a positive outcome coming out of Week 9, they just needed McCarthy to show that he possessed some of what the Vikings believed he had when they drafted him. What I didn’t really see coming was the Vikings coming out victorious, on top of McCarthy looking better than we could’ve asked for.
The kid showed poise and promise, and inspired confidence for the road going forward. This was arguably the hardest game of their gauntlet of a schedule going forward, and they controlled the entire flow of the game.
Minnesota’s defense needed a big bounce-back after an embarrassing outing against the Los Angeles Chargers on Thursday Night Football. The Vikings’ run defense showed up for the party, allowing only 78 combined rushing yards between Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery, arguably the best running back duo in football.
Vikings Create Some Momentum Going Down the Stretch
In a game where they needed some kind of source of momentum to build upon and get rolling as we get to the time of year where we find out who is for real and who is fake, the Vikings have given themself a platform to launch off of to rattle off some wins in the coming weeks. The defense inspired confidence as they continued to stop the run against the Lions, something they will need to continue as the Baltimore Ravens roll into town in Week 10.
The Ravens do, however, provide a greater challenge defensively for a Vikings offense that may have some spark to it. The Lions have a legitimate pass rush, but Baltimore will pose a much bigger threat in the secondary to McCarthy attempting to target his receivers. All due respect to Terrion Arnold and Brian Branch, but Marlon Humphrey and Kyle Hamilton provide a bit more of a challenge.
Now, it is up to McCarthy to lead the Vikings to some more victories in a seemingly wide-open NFC conference. Vikings fans everywhere should feel hope, as the Minnesota Vikings couldn’t ask for much more out of their Sunday than they received in return. With them currently being last in the NFC North, their 2-0 division record is ever-important, but they simply just need to go out and win games.
As McCarthy has already shown in the NFL in his two games he played fully healthy, he just wins, and there’s no need to stop now.
