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He might have been wearing a No. 9 Vikings jersey, but J.J. McCarthy was not the real author behind last Sunday’s thrilling 27-24 victory over the Lions.
The real mastermind, according to the 22-year-old quarterback, is his edgy alter ego, Nine, who scored three touchdowns in his NFL return after missing five straight games this season due to a high ankle sprain.
“It really kind of started to show up this year, and it came about last year during IR,” said McCarthy, who missed his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus.
“Just never had a full season, where you want to be out there so freaking bad, but you can’t. It was just this built-up anger that was kind of ready to just explode, and I chose to harness it instead of letting it go into a self-destructive kind of way.”
The Vikings’ 10th overall pick in last year’s draft, McCarthy watched from the sideline in 2024 as veteran journeyman Sam Darnold revived his career with a 14-3 campaign.
When Darnold joined the Seahawks in free agency on a $100.5 million deal, it was McCarthy’s turn to take the reins.
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He orchestrated a second-half rally against the Bears in his Week 1 debut before careening back down to earth days later, with a two-interception performance in a blowout loss to the Falcons.
McCarthy was sidelined for the next five games with the ankle injury, with Minnesota turning to veteran Carson Wentz in the interim. Despite suffering a dislocated shoulder and a torn labrum in Week 5, Wentz played through the injury before being shut down for the year in late October.
Enter McCarthy, err, Nine for a divisional rival road matchup against the Lions, in which he went 14-of-25 for 143 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
The game marked the former Wolverine’s third NFL start.
“It’s unique and I kind of love feeding that wolf because my entire life at Michigan, there was a smiley face on my hand and smile and you have fun, you’re going to play better and all that, which is true. But I also think there’s a lot of power that comes from that built-up anger that you can transmute into your performance,” he said.
The Vikings, who improved to 4-4 with the Week 9 win, host the Ravens on Sunday.
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