Dan Campbell praises J.J. McCarthy ahead of Vikings vs. Lions matchup, and his words highlight how Minnesota can get the win

It may feel like coach speak, but Dan Campbell is as genuine as they come.

Tyler Forness — NFL & College Football News Writer
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Sep 14, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy (9) looks to make a pass during the first half against the Atlanta Falcons at U.S. Bank Stadium.

Sunday’s game between the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions was looked at during the season to be one of the more marquee games of the season. They were both coming off of 14+ win seasons in 2024 with improvements at multiple positions on both rosters.

Now that we are eight weeks into the season, things have not gone as planned. The Lions are 5-2 with some momentum going into this game, and are coming off the bye week. The Vikings are in a much different spot, sitting at 3-4 coming off of a mini-bye since their last game was on Thursday night against the Los Angeles Chargers.

The really interesting thing with the Vikings and trying to project them moving forward is the change at quarterback.

Dan Campbell praises J.J. McCarthy

With J.J. McCarthy set to take back over at quarterback, the Vikings could take a multitude of forms. He’s played in just two games this season and they were mostly poor. However, the fourth quarter against the Chicago Bears was next level, and Lions head coach Dan Campbell emphasized that on Tuesday.

“You watch Chicago, and what he did [in that game], had it a little bit rough there, early, right?” said Campbell. “Throws the pick, then all sudden, man, he comes rushing back. And you just see the poise and the confidence and his ability to overcome that and really lead him to a win. That’s impressive for a young guy. So that kind of tells me all I need to know. I know what the talent is. I’ve seen it. So, they’re going to do what they need to do to help him out and try to reduce the stress, you know, take as much off his plate, but yet allow him to do things he does well.”

Adding McCarthy back to the offense is going to be huge in taking the next step for this team, and exactly what they need. With the issues on the offensive line, the Vikings need someone who can move, and McCarthy provides just that to the offense. Will his passing be up to snuff? That is the number one thing that we don’t have the answer to yet.

If McCarthy can run the offense well and show improvement over what we’ve seen from Carson Wentz, things could get really interesting for the Vikings.

The Lions are going to put up a formidable challenge with their defense as a whole. Getting pressure on McCarthy is going to be paramount for their success, and it could be the determining factor in getting a win on Sunday.

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