When the Detroit Lions opened up the 2025 campaign with an ugly 27-13 loss to the division-rival Green Bay Packers, there were some worries. Many of those were put to rest by a 52-21 win over the Chicago Bears the next week. That leaves them at 1-1 through two weeks, just like the fourth team in their division, the Minnesota Vikings. However, Lions All-Pro WR Amon-Ra St. Brown is a lot more worried about the Viks than his own team.
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Since Kevin O’Connell came on as head coach in Minnesota in 2022, they have been one of the most potent offenses in football despite a smattering of different starters at QB. However, through two weeks in 2025, St. Brown and many others have not seen the same level from that offensive unit that they’ve come to expect.
And a lot of that has to do with the quarterback again. J.J. McCarthy is essentially a rookie. While he had a great fourth quarter in a comeback win over the Bears in Week 1, he looked lost in a rough Week 2 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Even his division rivals could see it, as St. Brown called Minnesota’s offense his “biggest disappointment” so far this season.
“I was watching that Falcons-Vikings game. And I watched obviously the Vikings-Bears game. Because it was Monday night and I wanted to see what was gonna happen, division game. Any time our division teams play, I like to watch. I feel like the Vikings offense has taken a step backwards from what I remember it being last year and the years before.”
McCarthy had some flashes, but he threw two interceptions and fumbled three times (though he only lost one of them) in that game. But even with those turnovers, you’d expect them to be able to at least move the ball and get Justin Jefferson more involved. St. Brown, a fellow Pro Bowl receiver, has watched Jefferson—who he names one of his favorite players to watch—go for just seven receptions and 125 yards through two weeks.
“And I’m watching, and I’m like, I know he’s frustrated. It just doesn’t look like the offense they had in the past with Kirk there and Sammy D last year. And I know J.J.’s young, it’s a learning curve for him. … Their offense, watching that against the Falcons, that disappointed me.”
McCarthy has now been diagnosed with a high ankle sprain and is week-to-week. That means veteran Carson Wentz will get the second chance (or is it his third or fourth?) he’s been waiting on for the past couple of years.
We have a feeling he will get the unit up and running more convincingly for their matchup with the Jake Browning-led Cincinnati Bengals next week. After that, it’s off to Europe for a two-week sojourn to face the disappointing Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns.
The Vikings weren’t the only teams that had disappointed St. Brown. The Lions wideout also listed the Kansas City Chiefs, the Chicago Bears, New York Jets, and Houston Texans among the teams he’s most surprised to see at 0-2.
On the positive side, his most surprising 2-0 teams were the truly shocking Indianapolis Colts—who have yet to punt the football through two weeks—as well as the Arizona Cardinals and Cincinnati Bengals.
