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The first three quarters were not beautiful for Minnesota Vikings Quarterback JJ McCarthy in his first NFL start Monday night, but all that matters is what happens in the fourth quarter.
McCarthy led the Vikings to an exciting comeback and scored 21 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Chicago Bears, 27-24, on the way to begin the 2025 NFL season.
Last season, McCarthy was on the sidelines with a season -ending meniscus injury that got a little during the forecast. He saw when Sam Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 record, but McCarthy knew it was going into this campaign that it was his turn to get the job done at quarterback in head coach Kevin O’Connell’s dynamic violation.
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Minnesota Vikings Quarterback JJ McCarthy (9) hurries the ball against Chicago Bears during the first half of Soldier Field on September 8, 2025. (Matt Marton/Imag- Pictures)
McCarthy had some trouble doing so to start this game when Bears’ defense, led by the new coordinator Dennis Allen, drew up the right pressure to fluster the young signal call. He was only able to get Will Reichard into the field target area twice in the first half, while Caleb Williams and Bears’ violation started a hot start under the new head coach Ben Johnson.
But crunch time in the fourth quarter, with the Vikings down 17-6, the McCarthy answered the call.
It all started with a six-play drive where McCarthy fired a bullet to the front of the final zone to find his star recipient, Justin Jefferson, for his first score of the new campaign. Then the Vikings defense held up the pressure on Williams to give McCarthy another chance in the lead with a three-and-out forced to the subsequent possession.
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McCarthy launched, after getting a generous defensive passport interference call a perfectly placed deep ball to drive Aaron Jones back to the lead, 20-17, after a successful two-point conversion.
Dagger in this come-from-back victory was a nine-play drive that ended up with a 14-yard touchdown run by none other than McCarthy holding the ball on a third-and-1 read opportunity from the Chicago 14-yard line. He bored into the final zone and let out a roar with his Viking teammates, who all curled around him as the scoring went to 27-17 with 2:53 back in the game.
Williams started such a hot start and ran in a touchdown on Bears’ opening drive in the game. But Bears’ violation, which is expected to be upgraded with Johnson’s Play-Calling in place, considering his success with the Detroit Lions, sputtered after that. They only patterned one field target in the second quarter, while Kicker Cairo Santos missed another in the fourth.
Justin Jefferson from Minnesota Vikings runs with the ball during the game against Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on September 8, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Michael Reaves/Getty Images)
The second touchdown scored for the bears was a pick-six thrown by McCarthy in the third quarter, which at the time seemed to be a total killer because of how bad he was playing.
But it was Williams who had to run rushed violation late to get back into the game, and he was finally able to find the end zone again. Bears’ drought ended with Rome Odunze far open to one-yard score to get the deficit down to three for Chicago with two minutes left to play.
Bears’ defense was able to force a three-and-out on the Vikings, but there wasn’t enough playing back to a miracle as the Vikings celebrated their hard-fought victory on the road.
McCarthy’s first career start ended with a line of 13-for-20 in 143 yards with two touchdowns and an eavesdropping. It was also noteworthy to see Jordan Mason get the brother’s party of touches in the running, a total of 15 in 68 yards, where veteran Aaron Jones Sr gets eight carrier in 23 yards. However, Jones was tied with Jefferson in 44 yards in the receiving game.
Chicago Bears Quarterback Caleb Williams shrinks during the first half of an NFL football match against Minnesota Vikings Monday 8 September 2025 in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)
For Bears, Williams was 21-of-35 in 211 yards with his touchdown-pass and dangerous score. He led the bears with 58 rushing yards on only six carriers, while d’Erse Swift had 53 yards on 17 touches in the back field. DJ Moore also had 70 yards on only three receptions.
