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J.J. McCarthy has dealt with more than his fair share of injury setbacks early in his NFL career, but you wouldn’t have guessed it based on the way he ran the ball in the Vikings’ Week 18 matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
Early in the first quarter, McCarthy rolled out of the pocket and took off down the sideline. What looked like a routine scramble quickly turned into a full-on highlight-reel moment. First, the rookie quarterback used a nasty stiff-arm to plant Packers linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper into the turf. Then, instead of sliding or stepping out of bounds, McCarthy lowered his shoulder and delivered the BOOM to cornerback Keisean Nixon before finally crashing out of play.
It was the kind of physical, fearless run that fires up a sideline, and probably caused a few Vikings fans to hold their breath at the same time.
Unfortunately, what could have been one of McCarthy’s best plays of the season came with a frustrating footnote. After popping up, the former Michigan star let Nixon hear about it, and the officials didn’t hesitate. A 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty wiped out nearly all of the gain and took the shine off an otherwise electric moment.
Still… the message was loud and clear:
J.J. McCarthy isn’t backing down from anyone.
NINE THROWING STIFF ARMS AND LOWERING THE SHOULDER 😤
(via @NFLonCBS)
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) January 4, 2026
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Don Drysdale
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