Inside the Vikings’ viral 'dog in the street' howl and who actually started it

The answer came through an entertaining back-and-forth with Justin Jefferson, and then an interview with a Vikings offensive lineman.

J.J. McCarthy howling during his "dog in the street" breakdown following Minnesota's win over Detroit. | Image courtesy of the Minnesota Vikings

The howl heard 'round the world came from inside the Vikings locker room after they upset the Detroit Lions last Sunday, and it was led by quarterback J.J. McCarthy's breakdown in the huddle, where he shouted, "Like a dog in the street!" before everyone on the team released a hilarious howl.

🗣️ LIKE A DOG IN THE STREET pic.twitter.com/6tVMsZuTrr

— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 3, 2025

On Thursday, Vikings wide receiver revealed that McCarthy isn't the mastermind behind the phrase. The big reveal came after Jefferson talked about McCarthy's dog-like mentality on the field.

"Everyone has to have that ego, especially on this team. They have a lot of nice guys on this team. Great human beings. When we go out there on that field, we don't need any more nice guys. We need some guys that are dogs, and they're bound to scrap through anything. I feel like he has that dog mentality, and he knows that he's gotta turn it on when he steps on that field," Jefferson said.

That's when an entertaining back-and-forth with reporters unfurled.

Reporter: Is he the one who started the dog in the street howl thing?

Jefferson: No, he's not the one that started that. Offensive started it. O-line started it.

Reporter: Can you explain what that means?

Jefferson: They'll explain it to you. I'll leave them to explain it to you, so the next time an O-lineman gets up here...

Reporter: That's not going to happen.

Jefferson: Oh, lord. We don't have [Brian O'Neill] doing interviews?

Reporter: He's doing it right now, actually.

Jefferson: Oh, yeah, so you gotta hurry up, get in there and ask him. Ask him what that means. Oh, ask Walter what that means, actually.

Reporter: Walter Rouse?

Jefferson: Yes. Ask him what that means.

That led a group of reporters to Rouse, who did his best to explain where how the phrase took on a life of its own within the Vikings.

"It kind of started in the O-line room. I will say, shoutout to good friend, LeRoy. It's kind of like a rallying cry," Rouse began. "Something we joke around with. It got everyone pumped up and we started saying it more and more. Like I say, someone might trip or something, or something happens, they fumble, in terms of walking around the street or something like that, and it's like, 'Boy, like a dog in the street.'

"With J.J., after the Lions game, it was a great win. Some of the guys didn't know, like, 'What did he just say?!' But a lot of the guys on offense knew what we were talking about," Rouse continued. "It's funny, it gets the guys going. We love it. A little rallying cry, almost. That's all it really is. It's something that started off as a joke, and it's still a joke, but now it's more like a rallying cry."