Minnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy was chosen by NFL icon Tom Brady as the Player of the Game after beating the Detroit Lions.

Why, you ask? Well, the Minnesota Vikings are now firmly in the mix. The club went into Ford Field and took down the Detroit Lions, 27-24. On top of simply notching a divisional win, the key development in this game and what makes the victory hold bigger ramifications for the second half was the return of J.J. McCarthy .

Tom Brady awards Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy with the LFG Player of the Game after his big performance against the Detroit Lions.

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QB injects life into a Vikings team that had been reeling, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another.

The Lions also struggled in the running game. The Vikings give quarterbacks fits with their varied blitz packages, but teams have been able to run against them. David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs, though, managed 65 yards on 20 carries with a long of 11 yards.

Get all the news you need in your inbox each morning. They’ve lost two of their past three games and at 5-3 have one more loss then they had last year during the entire regular season.

They jury remained very much out on McCarthy prior to his Week 2 ankle injury. Sunday was a big step in the right direction for the second-year Vikings quarterback.