J.J. McCarthy’s Vikings debut started about as poorly as it possibly could’ve, and ended as incredibly as anyone could’ve imagined.
In his first competitive football game since winning the national championship at Michigan, over 600 days ago, McCarthy threw for just 48 yards in the first half with an ugly pick-six that had fans wondering why the team moved on from Sam Darnold.
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But playing in front of his hometown crowd, the ex-Wolverine QB kept chipping away before breaking out for three fourth quarter touchdowns to help bring his team back from 17-6 to a 27-24 victory.
McCarthy ended up finishing 13-of-20 with 143 yards, two touchdowns and the aforementioned pick; with two carries for another 25 yards and a dagger score on the ground.
But one Vikings legend had an honest admission about how he would’ve handled the rookie’s early struggles had be been on the field.
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Aug 9, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) warms up before the game against the Houston Texans at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images© Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images
Jared Allen: ‘Sit your a— down’
Catching up with Kay Adams on Tuesday’s “Up & Adams,” Hall of Famer Jared Allen shared his feelings on McCarthy’s debut and even admitted that he might’ve lost faith had he been playing in the first half of Monday night’s win.
“I’ll be honest, if a rookie QB throws a pick-six then he tries to come over to talk to me about ‘Hey give me the ball back, I got your back,’ I’m like sit your a— down we’re gonna do it ourselves over here, you know?” the five-time Pro Bowler said. “So it just shows the kind of character he has, the kind of leadership he has and then ultimately the trust his teammates have in him to go out and respond like that.”
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The grit and resilience McCarthy showed to get up off the mat in the face of adversity had to endear him to his teammates, as well as give the Minnesota faithful belief that they finally found the guy.
In a lot of ways, J.J. just confirmed a lot of what people thought about him coming out of Ann Arbor: he’s a gamer, he’s a leader, and somehow, someway he’s going to find a way to lead his team to wins — no matter what it looks like.
The former 10th overall pick will get the next chance to build on his debut at U.S. Bank Stadium this weekend when the Vikings host the Falcons on “Sunday Night Football” on NBC.
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This story was originally reported by The Spun on Sep 10, 2025, where it first appeared in the NFL section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.