DETROIT — J.J. McCarthy threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score in his return from an ankle injury, leading the Minnesota Vikings to a 27-24 win over the Detroit Lions on Sunday.

McCarthy sealed the victory by throwing a 16-yard pass to Jalen Nailor on third-and-5 from the Minnesota 28, a play that allowed Minnesota to run out the clock.

McCarthy, who led Michigan to the 2023 national championship, was 14 of 25 for 143 yards. He threw both of his scoring passes in the first quarter, connecting with Justin Jefferson from 10 yards out and T.J. Hockenson from 7 yards. He threw an interception on a ball that was ripped away from his intended receiver.

McCarthy ran for a 9-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter, giving the Vikings a 24-14 lead.

The Vikings (4-4) had lost two straight and three of four, but bounced back behind their second-year quarterback, who had missed the previous five games.

The Lions went 3 for 3 on fourth down, converting the third time with Jared Goff’s 17-yard pass to Sam LaPorta early in the fourth quarter. They lined up to go for it on fourth-and-5 on the same drive and got a first down on a neutral-zone infraction by Jonathan Greenard.

Detroit ended up settling for a field-goal attempt, and it got blocked by Levi Drake Rodriguez. Isaiah Rodgers returned it 33 yards to set up Will Reichard’s 20-yard field goal. That proved to be a critical score because Goff threw a 37-yard touchdown pass to Jameson Williams on the ensuing possession.

Lions coach Dan Campbell opted to kick off and use timeouts, hoping to get the ball back, but McCarthy’s clutch throw ended those hopes.

Goff was 25 of 37 for 284 yards with two touchdowns. LaPorta had 97 yards receiving and a score, and St. Brown had 97 yards on nine catches. Jahmyr Gibbs was held to 25 yards rushing on nine carries and 3 yards on 3 receptions.

Injuries

Vikings: RB Aaron Jones had a shoulder injury after gaining 78 yards on nine carries and 20 yards on two catches. FB C.J. Ham (hand) and CB Jeff Okudah (concussion) were inactive and OLB Andrew Van Ginkel (neck) returned from injury.

Lions: G Tate Ratledge (shoulder) was injured and the team’s other starting guard, Christian Mahogany, was carted off with a knee injury midway through the fourth quarter. CB Kerby Joseph (knee) was inactive.

— Larry Lage in Detroit

Carolina Panthers 16, Green Bay Packers 13

Carolina Panthers running back Rico Dowdle (5) scores a touchdown against the Green Bay Packers during the second half on Sunday, Nov. 2, 2025, in Green Bay, Wis. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Rico Dowdle rushed for 130 yards and two touchdowns, and his big run in the final minute set up Ryan Fitzgerald’s last-second 49-yard field goal as the Carolina Panthers beat Green Bay 16-13 on Sunday to snap the Packers’ three-game win streak.

The loss could prove costly for Green Bay (5-2-1). Packers star tight end Tucker Kraft was carted off the field with a knee injury in the third quarter.

Carolina (5-4), a two-touchdown underdog according to BetMGM Sportsbook, bounced back from a 40-9 home loss to Buffalo to get back over .500.

Dowdle had been splitting time with Chuba Hubbard, but Panthers coach Dave Canales said Dowdle would get the bulk of the carries, and the move paid off.

Running behind an injury-riddled offensive line, Dowdle responded with a brilliant 25-carry performance that included one big mistake.

His second touchdown of the day gave the Panthers a 13-6 lead late in the third quarter. But he celebrated that score by thrusting his hips twice, an apparent reference to a “Key & Peele” sketch, and was called for unsportsmanlike conduct.

Fitzgerald’s ensuing 48-yard extra-point attempt into a swirling wind was well short, keeping Carolina’s lead at 13-6.

Dowdle and Fitzgerald both redeemed themselves after Green Bay’s Josh Jacobs scored a tying touchdown from 2 yards out on third-and-goal with 2:01 left. Rather than having to go for 2 to tie the game, the Packers evened the score on Brandon McManus’ extra point.

After Carolina got the ball back, Dowdle’s 19-yard carry on second-and-10 from midfield got the Panthers in field-goal position, and the rookie kicker from Florida State came through as time expired.

Before Jacobs’ touchdown, the Packers had marched inside the Carolina 35 on five of their first six possessions but had only two field goals to show for it.

Green Bay entered the day with just three turnovers all season, matching Philadelphia for the lowest total in the league. Savion Williams had a red-zone fumble that thwarted a scoring opportunity, and Jordan Love threw an interception that led to a Carolina touchdown Sunday.

McManus converted from 49 and 27 yards out but also missed a 43-yarder that would have put Green Bay ahead in the third quarter. Dowdle’s second touchdown came after Green Bay’s Keisean Nixon was called for pass interference on a third-and-goal incompletion.

Green Bay also passed up a short field-goal attempt while trailing 13-6 in the fourth quarter and went for it on fourth-and-8 from the Carolina 13. Love rolled to his right, couldn’t find anyone open, headed way to his left and then threw across the field. Carolina’s Mike Jackson dropped the ball in the end zone.

Love was 26 of 37 for 273 yards with one interception on his 27th birthday. Jacobs had 17 carries for 87 yards.

Injuries

Panthers: OG Chandler Zavala (elbow) departed in the first half. LB Trevin Wallace left late in the fourth quarter. C Cade Mays (ankle/knee) and OLB Princely Umanmielen (ankle) didn’t play.

Packers: Along with the injury to Kraft, WR Matthew Golden (shoulder), OG Aaron Banks (stringer) and DL Colby Wooden (shoulder) all left the game. WR Dontayvion Wicks (calf) and DE Lukas Van Ness (foot) were out for a second straight game.

— Steve Megargee in Green Bay, Wis.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/11/02/nfc-north-vikings-beat-lions-packers-lose/