If you thought J.J. McCarthy looked a little different during and after the Vikings' 27–24 upset win over the Lions on Sunday, that's because he did.
More specifically, McCarthy, who missed the entirety of his rookie season with a torn meniscus and missed five games this year with a high ankle sprain, was channeling his alter ego, who we have now learned is named "Nine" in a reference to his jersey number.
"It really kind of started to show up this year," McCarthy said Wednesday, per ESPN's Kevin Seifert, "and it came about last year during IR. Just never had a full season, where you want to be out there so freaking bad, but you can't. It was just this built-up anger that was kind of ready to just explode, and I chose to harness it instead of letting it go into a self-destructive kind of way."
It's a departure for McCarthy, who normally appears pretty upbeat and joyful. But he likes the personality switch.
"I kind of love feeding that wolf," he said, "because my entire life at [the University of Michigan], there was a smiley face on my hand, and [if] you smile, and you have fun, you're going to play better and all that—which is true. But I also think there's a lot of power that comes from that built-up anger that you can transmute into your performance."
The explanation is sort of in keeping with comments the quarterback made back in September regarding his signature eye black.
"I kind of make this switch when game day happens," he said at the time. "That's when the war paint comes on. It's like I'm ready to die on that field, and I'm ready to do anything possible to get that win. It's not going to look pretty, and it's not going to look like someone just did my makeup for Halloween. It's war paint."
So yeah. If there was any doubt that McCarthy switches into a different mode on the gridiron, let "Nine" put those hesitations to rest. He'll surely be turning the alter ego on again come Sunday, when the Vikes go up against Lamar Jackson and the Ravens at 1 p.m. ET.
