By Jenna West, Kevin Fishbain, Dan Wiederer and Alec Lewis
The Minnesota Vikings orchestrated a fourth-quarter comeback, punctuated by quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s rushing touchdown with less than five minutes remaining, to defeat the Chicago Bears 27-24 in McCarthy’s NFL debut.
McCarthy struggled for much of the night, but with the Vikings down 17-6 and struggling to move the ball, he found Justin Jefferson for a 13-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to breathe life into the offense.
On the Vikings’ next possession, McCarthy dropped a dime of a 27-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Jones near the right sideline to give Minnesota its first lead of the night. McCarthy then fired a strike to Adam Thielen for a two-point conversion.
The Bears took an early lead with quarterback Caleb Williams’ 9-yard rushing touchdown in the first quarter, and then a 74-yard pick six from former Viking Nahshon Wright in the third.
Williams went 20 of 34 with 191 passing yards and one touchdown, adding six carries, 58 rushing yards and a score on the ground.
Monday marked McCarthy’s regular-season debut with the Vikings, who drafted him in 2024. He missed all of last season after tearing the meniscus in his right knee during his first preseason game, building intrigue over how he’d play Monday.
He finished 13 of 20 with 143 passing yards, two touchdowns and an interception, along with one rushing TD.
JJ MCCARTHY LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
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Electric comeback
The two halves could not have been more different for McCarthy and the Vikings’ offense. The first half was disastrous. McCarthy looked flustered on the first couple of drives, and he even threw a facepalm-worthy pick-six to Wright. For the record, the Vikings’ offense was not helping him. The team struggled to run the football. The offensive line was not manhandling the Bears’ front. Then everything changed.
Beginning in the third quarter, the Vikings started to lean on the Bears’ defense. Running back Jordan Mason side-stepped tacklers and established momentum. McCarthy fed off of it, completing a couple of critical passes to Jefferson. McCarthy threw his first touchdown at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and from then on, the Vikings’ offense had its way. McCarthy even executed a read-option play, running in a touchdown to secure the victory.
Perhaps the most telling was the way coach Kevin O’Connell and teammates reacted. The team swarmed McCarthy. O’Connell was fist-pumping on the sidelines. McCarthy’s final passing stat line doesn’t do this starting debut justice. It was an electric comeback, orchestrated by No. 9. — Alec Lewis, Vikings staff writer
Vikings’ defense finds its way
So much of the pregame conversation centered around Brian Flores’ defense versus Ben Johnson’s offense. The Vikings struggled to corral Williams throughout the evening, but Minnesota got the better end of the matchup. Flores didn’t have to dip into his bag of tricks. The Vikings mostly allowed their four-man rush to work on the Bears’ offensive line. Early on, the Vikings’ pass rushers had issues, and even when Minnesota infused linebackers like Ivan Pace Jr. in stunts, it had trouble finding its way around Williams.
The defense, though, pitched a second-half shutout. Interior defenders Jalen Redmond and Javon Hargrave won their matchups inside, and the Vikings’ secondary held up sans safety Harrison Smith. Minnesota wasn’t able to turn the Bears over — one of the primary reasons its 2024 defense was so good — but Williams held the ball frequently. That is partially why he amassed 58 yards and a touchdown on six carries.
The Bears’ explosive passing game was minimal, but for a few coverage busts. The Vikings also held up admirably in the run game against D’Andre Swift, limiting him to 3.1 yards per carry. — Lewis
Bears’ offense goes off the rails
Williams started the 2025 season completing six passes in a row on a touchdown drive, and then another four more. Not only did he stop hitting receivers, but also he started airmailing them. On a fourth down in the second quarter, he zipped it past an open DJ Moore. He overshot tight end Cole Kmet a couple of times. He just seemed erratic as the offense struggled to move the football the way it had to open the game.
Johnson’s goal of a 70-percent completion rate is lofty, but that’s the standard he wants to set. During one stretch, in which the Vikings rallied back while the Bears sputtered, Williams had completed only 7 of 16 passes. He wasn’t giving his receivers a chance, which was a stark change from the efficient start, when he took what the defense gave him.
Williams prides himself on his precision passing, and it went awry as the Bears’ offense went off the rails. — Kevin Fishbain, Bears senior writer
Penalties must be corrected
Johnson isn’t likely to sleep much. Not Monday night. Probably not for the rest of this week. Not after that error-filled performance by his Bears. Not after Williams led an opening possession touchdown march, but then only produced three points on the Bears’ next nine drives. Not after the Bears coughed up an 11-point third-quarter lead and allowed 21 unanswered points in 10 minutes.
However, if Johnson needs a place to start with his corrections, he can cue up the video of his squad’s 12 penalties Monday night, infractions that cost his team 127 yards. The longest of the night was a pass interference foul against cornerback Wright (42 yards) in the first half, but the flags were everywhere. All night. Seven on the offense, including four false starts, plus four on the defense and one on special teams. Many in key moments.
Sure, a Dayo Odeyingbo roughing the passer penalty in the third quarter felt iffy. Later, a holding call on Darnell Wright may have been phantom. However, that’s a loser’s lament.
For a team with an already thin margin for error, the penalty epidemic must be assessed and corrected immediately. — Dan Wiederer, Bears senior writer
(Photo of J.J. McCarthy: Matt Marton / Imagn Images)
