J.J. McCarthy’s personality is a shot of oxygen for a Vikings franchise that, since Fran Tarkenton, has spent decades trying out the wrong young QBs.

On Sunday, the Michigan alum threw a pair of touchdowns, sealing the 27-24 win over the on the road, and his newborn son Rome was taking it all in as his number one fan, according to McCarthy's fiancee, Katya Kuropas.

Seven-time Super Bowl champion QB Tom Brady dissected his fellow Michigan quarterback on Sunday’s Fox broadcast.

“I’m happy that we got the win, but I’m not proud, to be honest with you,” McCarthy said, via the team’s website. “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.”

J.J. McCarthy threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score in his return from an ankle injury, leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 27-24 win over the Detroit Lions.

J.J. McCarthy got emotional talking about the reception he got from his teammates in the locker room postgame. Can see how much this meant to him after everything he's dealt with on the injury front. pic.twitter.com/CEw3Sp3Kav

The visiting team's quarterback is the former quarterback of the other home team. The one that won a National Championship two years ago. The one that, in the last time McCarthy played a football game in Michigan, saw the Wolverines beat their mortal enemies from Ohio, 30-24.

J.J. McCarthy completed only 14 passes, but his final one was exactly what the Vikings needed. Junfu Han / Imagn Images (Editor’s note: This is excerpted from Mike Sando’s Pick Six of Nov. 2, 2025.) 3.