Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy has a self-diagnosed anger issue, though it isn’t a problem in his mind.
ESPN’s Kevin Seifert reported on Wednesday, November 5, that McCarthy’s emotional nature developed out of multiple injuries that cost him the whole of his rookie campaign in 2024 and five of the team’s first seven games this season.
“It really kind of started to show up this year, and it came about last year during IR,” McCarthy said, per Seifert. “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 result is a persona that McCarthy refers to as “Nine,” a sort of alternate personality that takes over during competitive moments, particularly on game days.
It shows up in fiery facial expressions, including one caught on video when head coach Kevin O’Connell was speaking to McCarthy and his teammates in the locker room last week following the Lions game. The NFL shared video of McCarthy and his now infamous glare, including a clip of the face he was making while O’Connell addressed him directly in the locker room.
“Pure dawg 🔥,” the league’s official X account captioned the reel on November 4.
O’Connell joked that he now will simply “get the hell out of the way for my own personal safety” when McCarthy takes on his angry, Incredible Hulk-style persona in the locker room and elsewhere.
JJ McCarthy Says Vikings Aren’t Close to Full Potential
GettyMinnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy.
McCarthy wasn’t overly dominant against the Detroit Lions in his return following a six-week absence due to a high-ankle sprain, though he did everything he needed to do for the Vikings to win, move back to .500 and potentially avoid losing grip on their season.
He threw for for 143 yards, two TDs and one INT and ran for another score. He also made a key third-and-nine completion to wide receiver Jalen Nailor to ice the game.
McCarthy promised that the team hasn’t even come close to reaching its potential in the aftermath of the key road victory, while O’Connell noted that McCarthy is 2-0 in road games against the Lions and Chicago Bears across only three starts in his career (2-1).
O’Connell added that McCarthy, who has accounted for three touchdowns in each of those victories, has made clutch plays down the stretch each time.
JJ McCarthy May Be Getting Too Much Credit for Vikings’ Success in His 2 Career Wins
GettyMinnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy.
But despite small sample size success on McCarthy’s part and O’Connell’s praise of his 22-year-old quarterback, ESPN analyst Ben Solak took issue with the notion that Minnesota stood on McCarthy’s shoulders in order to win the game against Detroit last Sunday.
“Whenever the numbers look bad for McCarthy, there’s a protesting refrain: ‘He’s clutch! He’s poised! He just wins!’ McCarthy looked calm and controlled on the first two drives, which were scripted plays — but once the offense got off script and the Lions hit him a few times, his composure started to wane,” Solak wrote.
“This is a game to cast aside our quarterback obsession and see the forest for the trees,” Solak added. “To make McCarthy the story of this game is to totally erase the spectacular efforts of many Vikings — coaches and players. I simply won’t have it.”
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