Week 9 Vikings score predictions for J.J. McCarthy's return vs. Lions

No pressure, J.J. McCarthy. It's just that, after your six-week absence due to a high ankle sprain, your third NFL start comes on the road, against a division rival that happens to be one of the very best teams in the league. Oh, and a loss would drop the playoff odds for your veteran-laden, supposedly win-now team from slim to minuscule.

The most important thing for the 3-4 Vikings over the remainder of this season is seeing growth, development, and upside in McCarthy. After so many missed games, they need proof that they have their guy at the most important position in the sport moving forward. But if they're going to also remain in contention in 2025, it probably needs to start with a win on Sunday as 8.5-point underdogs in Detroit.

Can the Vikings snap a five-game losing streak against the Lions and pull off a significant upset this weekend? Our staff members have made their picks.

Will Ragatz: Lions 31, Vikings 16

Until proven otherwise, I'm going to assume that Jared Goff, Jahmyr Gibbs, Amon-Ra St. Brown, and the rest of the Lions' offense will put up at least 30 points on the Vikings, because that's what's happened in each of the last five meetings between these teams. Brian Flores, specifically, is 0 for 4 on figuring out how to slow down this Detroit attack (and to be fair, he's not alone in that).

That'll put a lot of pressure on McCarthy and the Vikings to keep pace on the scoreboard, and I think it's fair to expect a bumpy outing from the 22-year-old in his return to action against a very good Detroit defense. McCarthy will show some flashes in this game, but the Vikings' usual issues — turnovers and red zone execution — will continue to plague them in a sixth straight loss to the Lions.