The rookie who didn’t play a single snap last season walked into Soldier Field, looked shaky for three quarters, and then took over the game. In his first NFL start, J.J. McCarthy rallied the Minnesota Vikings to a 27-24 win over the Chicago Bears on Monday night, turning a rough debut into the kind of fourth-quarter surge that sticks with a locker room.
This was McCarthy’s first real game action since he helped Michigan win the 2023 national title. He missed all of 2024 after a knee injury in the Vikings’ first preseason game, a frustrating stall for the No. 10 pick. The expectation and the rust both showed early. So did the stakes—divisional road game, prime time, new era vibes on both sidelines.
Chicago’s defense made him earn every inch in the first half. The Bears disguised coverages, spun safeties late, and made Minnesota chase unfavorable looks. McCarthy sprayed a few throws, the timing felt a beat off, and the Vikings’ offense kept searching for a rhythm that wasn’t there yet. The Bears had the tempo, the crowd, and the line of scrimmage.
At halftime, Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell delivered a simple message to his young quarterback: “You are going to bring us back to win this game.” That belief became the story of the night. The second half slowed down for McCarthy. The ball came out faster. The formations shifted, the footwork tightened, and the decisions sharpened.
The fourth-quarter turn
The comeback started with star power. Justin Jefferson, who had been shadowed and squeezed for most of the night, found daylight and hauled in a touchdown that closed the gap and snapped the funk. The route was crisp, the throw was on time, and the sideline felt it. Confidence spread, and the Vikings’ protection settled.
Then came the lead change: Aaron Jones, Minnesota’s big offseason pickup after his long run in Green Bay, slipped into space for a 27-yard touchdown with 9:46 to play. It was a veteran play—set up the defender with leverage, win the stem, accelerate through the catch—and it showed the value of pairing a rookie passer with a savvy back who understands coverage angles.
McCarthy closed the door with his legs. With 2:53 left, he kept the ball, broke contain, and raced in for a 14-yard rushing score. The call fit the moment. Chicago had leaned into its pressure rules to speed McCarthy up; Minnesota used that aggressiveness against them. A crease opened off the edge, and he didn’t hesitate.
What changed late? O’Connell leaned into motion and condensed sets to force the Bears to declare coverage. Minnesota used more quick-game concepts—slants, outs, stick routes—to set a rhythm, then layered in play-action and bootlegs to get McCarthy on the move. The offensive line answered with cleaner pockets, especially on early downs, which kept the playbook open.
The Vikings’ defense also delivered when it had to. A key stop in the fourth quarter put the ball back in McCarthy’s hands with the clock and the momentum. From there, it was about staying on schedule. No panic throws. No wasted downs. Just calm execution from a rookie who looked very much like a player who had spent a year studying, even if he couldn’t play.
O’Connell praised what everyone could see: “I felt poise from the very beginning. The look in his eye was fantastic. The best thing was just the belief I felt from the team, from the unit, and ultimately, that doesn’t get done without him in the second half.” The message matched the moment—steady, not dramatic, and backed by how the final quarter unfolded.
What it means for both teams
For Minnesota, this was more than an opening win. It was proof of concept. A young quarterback answered adversity on the road, in the division, in prime time. The film will show clean progressions, a handful of tight-window throws, and a willingness to use his legs without drifting into chaos. It will also show a coach-quarterback partnership that adjusted together in real time.
It helps when the stars shine late. Jefferson’s touchdown recalibrated Chicago’s coverage plan, and Jones—who has been a problem in this division for years—gave McCarthy a dependable outlet. Those two touches, followed by the quarterback’s 14-yard strike with his feet, were the spine of the comeback.
For Chicago, there were real flashes. Rookie quarterback Caleb Williams put his athleticism on tape with his first NFL rushing touchdown and added a passing score. He led the team in rushing with 58 yards on six carries, a mix of designed runs and decisive scrambles that punished soft edges. You can see the ceiling; you can also see the growing pains.
The problems were avoidable. Pre-snap penalties—false starts in loud moments and a handful of alignment hiccups—kept the Bears behind the sticks. Two timeouts were burned because the play calls came in late. That’s the kind of operational stuff that lingers from camp if it doesn’t get cleaned up. It breaks rhythm, shrinks the play sheet, and erases explosive plays that should stand.
D’Andre Swift had space on the perimeter and flashed in the flats but found little push between the tackles. He finished with 53 yards on 17 carries, which tells the story: the effort was there, the efficiency wasn’t. Short-yardage and interior runs need a sturdier foundation, whether that’s double-teams, angles, or a tweak in personnel groupings.
Defensively, the Bears gave McCarthy problems for most of the night. They rotated late, mixed zone-match principles, and dared him to be patient. The issue came when Minnesota picked up the pace. Once the Vikings moved to quicker snaps and simplified reads, Chicago’s disguise game lost some bite. The pass rush arrived in waves early and faded late.
There’s also the context of a new head coach. Ben Johnson’s offense demands precision—and it’s timing heavy. The spacing rules, the motion, the condensed splits, all of it depends on getting in and out of the huddle cleanly. The Bears hit some of it, especially on scripted sequences, but the operation wobbled when the game tilted to chaos late.
This rivalry game also doubled as a measuring stick for two franchises trying to reset. The Vikings are building around a young quarterback with a proven play-caller and elite skill talent. The Bears are betting on a No. 1 pick with rare traits and a modern scheme to unlock them. In both cases, you could see the outline. Minnesota’s was just more complete on a night when small details swung a close game.
Key moments that flipped the result stood out:
- Justin Jefferson’s touchdown, which broke Chicago’s grip on the coverage shell.
- Aaron Jones’ 27-yard score, the first lead for Minnesota and a trust throw for a rookie QB.
- McCarthy’s 14-yard keeper with 2:53 left, the exclamation point on the comeback.
- A Chicago false start on a short-yardage snap that turned a makeable play into a punt.
- Two Bears timeouts used to beat the play clock, costing them flexibility when they needed it most.
If you’re looking for trends to track, a few are obvious. For Minnesota: keep the quick game humming, protect on first down, and build the bootleg package as comfort grows. For Chicago: clean up pre-snap penalties, accelerate the operation, and find an interior run answer so Williams doesn’t have to carry the ground game.
In the end, the night belonged to a quarterback who waited a year for this chance and made it count. McCarthy didn’t light up the box score early, and he didn’t need to. He mastered the moment late. That’s usually how these careers start—slow, then fast, then a locker room that looks at its rookie and thinks, we can win with that.
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