Vikings stun Lions behind three-touchdown day from J.J. McCarthy

No one gave the Vikings much of a chance on Sunday in Detroit. They seem to like it that way.

Ten days after getting embarrassed by the Chargers on national TV, the Vikings were energized by the return of quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who had his second three-touchdown day in his third career start as Minnesota stunned the Lions 27-24 at Ford Field in Detroit. McCarthy sealed the upset win with a perfect back-shoulder throw to Jalen Nailor on third down in the final minute.

J.J. McCarthy is simply a gamer.

He's 2-1 as a starter, with both wins over division rivals on the road. Vikings stun the Lions in Detroit.pic.twitter.com/vxWE2yUxvK
— Will Ragatz (@WillRagatz) November 2, 2025

The Vikings' young quarterback threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter and ran for a third in the second half. He was far from perfect in his return after a six-week injury absence, but McCarthy did enough to lead his team to a win. The 22-year-old is now 2-1 as a starter in the NFL, with both wins coming against NFC North opponents on the road. His final line was 14 of 25 for 143 yards, two passing touchdowns, one interception, and a rushing score.

This was a total team effort from the Vikings. They managed to win with just 258 yards of offense because their defense put forth an outstanding performance. Brian Flores' group sacked Jared Goff five times, got a key takeaway forced by Blake Cashman, and held the Lions to a 5-of-17 mark on third downs. Special teams also came up big with a blocked field goal in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings benefited from ten Detroit penalties.

This was simply a gutsy win by the Vikings, who came in as 8.5-point underdogs. They needed it to revive their playoff hopes at 4-4, and they got it. They're now just one game behind the Lions in the division standings, with a tiebreaker in hand.

Game rewind

McCarthy's return to action started about as well as the Vikings could've hoped. After the Lions struck first with a 40-yard touchdown catch by Sam LaPorta on fourth down, Minnesota answered in impressive fashion. A 61-yard Myles Price kick return set the Vikings up with great field position, and McCarthy capped a five-play drive with a perfect ball to Jefferson, who made an outstanding one-handed grab for the touchdown.

One possession later, the offense struck again. With Jones providing some balance in the run game, McCarthy made a huge play by lofting a ball to Jordan Addison for a 31-yard gain that got the Vikings down to the 7. And on the next play, McCarthy rolled to his right and found a wide open Hockenson in the end zone for his second touchdown pass in as many drives.

J.J. McCarthy — Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

After the hot start, things didn't go quite as smoothly for McCarthy and the Vikings' offense for a while. Their next five real possessions, excluding a kneel down before the half, resulted in a punt, a field goal, a McCarthy interception, and a couple more punts. But Minnesota's defense came to play. They gave up a touchdown run on a short field early in the second quarter, but that score came in a stretch where the Lions punted five times on six possessions.

A 17-14 Vikings halftime lead became a 10-point advantage when McCarthy used his legs on a touchdown in the third quarter. After Cashman's forced fumble gave the Vikings good field position again, they were facing a third down at the Lions' 9 when McCarthy escaped the pocket and scrambled for his third score of the day.

Then, after a Lions field goal cut their deficit to seven, the Vikings had a 99-yard kickoff return touchdown by Price called back because of a hold on Tavierre Thomas. Special teams hurt them there, but worked in their favor when Levi Drake Rodriguez's blocked field goal set up a Will Reichard field goal to make it 27-17.

From there, the Vikings did enough to hold on for the win. The Lions struck quickly for a touchdown, but McCarthy iced the game with his throw to Nailor.

Next up: the Vikings will host Lamar Jackson and the Ravens at U.S. Bank Stadium next Sunday.