The Minnesota Vikings welcomed J.J. McCarthy back under center in a tough road test against the Detroit Lions, facing the added pressure to show he belongs as the team’s QB1.
McCarthy went 14-of-25 on his pass attempts for 143 passing yards, two passing touchdowns, and one interception, along with a rushing touchdown in the 27-24 win over their NFC North rival.
After the win over the Lions, Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson spoke with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero and didn’t hold back on the praise for McCarthy.
“What a baller,” Hockenson said. “He’s a vet through and through. You wouldn’t think it by his age, but the way he carries himself, the way he performs on Sundays, and the way he operates our offense, it shows you that.”
Vikings T.J. Hockenson Talks Playing the Lions
Hockenson, who caught one of McCarthy’s touchdown passes, knows how challenging it is to play in Detroit and how the crowd can impact communication between players on the field, as he played four seasons with the Lions.
“To come here in Detroit, these fans are crazy,” Hockenson added. “To be able to come away with a win was incredible. It just shows you the fight of this team. It’s been a tough couple of weeks, and so to come back and respond the way we did is incredible…
“It’s always fun to come back here and see these guys that I always played. I have a great respect for everybody in this organization and what they’ve been able to do, but I’m happy where we’re at, and I’m happy that we got this done.”
Dan Campbell Talks Lions Loss to Vikings
Even with McCarthy back at quarterback and the Vikings showing glimpses of offensive success, Lions head coach Dan Campbell believes his team handed the game to their opponent with their performance in Week 9.
“They executed and made the plays they needed to, and it’s credit to that, too, ” Campbell told reporters postgame (h/t Brad Galli of WXYZ Detroit). “As far as us, we did everything we needed to do to lose that game. We made every critical area you needed to at the right time to lose it. Perfect storm. When you don’t play well in all three phases, that falls on the head because that’s me. I did not have them ready coming out of a bye.
“We made too many mistakes. Some of our discipline issues and the penalties caught up to us. There were moments we were out of sync. We never looked comfortable and just didn’t make enough plays. We had multiple chances to put ourselves in position to win that game, and we didn’t take advantage of any of them. I’ve got to clean some things up — and we will. I will.
“We did have a few guys play well, but overall it was just too much. The penalties and turnovers at the wrong times really hurt us. The defense got put in some tough spots, but even then, we expect them to get stops when there’s a sudden change. We just didn’t handle the day well.”
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