JJ McCarthy leads dramatic fourth-quarter comeback in NFL debut to help Vikings beat division rivals Bears on Monday Night Football

Minnesota quarterback JJ McCarthy led an inspired fourth-quarter comeback in his NFL debut to help the Vikings beat their division rivals, the Chicago Bears, 27-24 on Monday.

McCarthy struggled for the majority of his first appearance in a regular-season game, with the Vikings offense unable to manufacture yards and appearing out of sync in a fervent atmosphere at Soldier Field.

The game appeared to be slipping away from Minnesota when a pass from McCarthy was intercepted by Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright and returned 74 yards to give Chicago an 11-point lead in the third quarter.

But despite all the adversity, McCarthy turned the game on its head and helped lead three consecutive touchdown drives in the fourth quarter – throwing for two TDs and running in another – to complete a dramatic victory.

“There’s no way to deny, we don’t win this game unless JJ plays the way he did in the second half,” Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters afterwards. “Most importantly, he kept the belief of his football team behind him. Now, we know it’s possible.”

McCarthy was selected with the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL draft after winning the NCAA national championship with Michigan but missed all of his rookie season after tearing the meniscus in his right knee.

In his absence last season, the Vikings turned to Sam Darnold who had great success, enjoying the best season of his career and leading Minnesota to the playoffs, only to fall short in the first round of the postseason.

The Vikings chose to let Darnold leave at the end of the season – the No. 3 overall pick in the 2018 draft went on to sign with the Seattle Seahawks – clearing the runway for McCarthy to become the full-time starter.

And his first start on Monday couldn’t have kicked off worse. At halftime, Minnesota was outgained 172 yards to 80 yards by Chicago. By the end of the third quarter, the Vikings had only been able to muster two field goals, had a pass intercepted for a touchdown and had punted the ball six times.

But in the final quarter, McCarthy looked a man reborn. He appeared more composed in the pocket and his 13-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson – McCarthy’s first ever in the NFL – seemed to settle him down.

On the very next drive, McCarthy helped orchestrate a five-play, 50-yard drive in just 51 seconds which ended in a 27-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Jones.

And to cap the comeback off, the 22-year-old ran in a 14-yard score on the subsequent offensive sequence.

O’Connell said he never lost faith in what his team – led by McCarthy – could achieve.

“I told (McCarthy) at halftime: ‘You are going to bring us back to win this game,’ and the look in his eye was fantastic,” O’Connell said. “The best thing is just the belief I felt from the team and unit. Ultimately, that doesn’t get done without him in the second half – two passing touchdowns and the critical rushing touchdown at the end.”

The Bears did cut the lead to three with a touchdown on their following drive but were unable to produce a late comeback.

McCarthy became the first player since Cam Newton in 2011 to record multiple passing touchdowns and a rushing score in his NFL debut, per NFL Research. He also became the first quarterback since the legendary Steve Young in 1985 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to bring his team back from at least a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win in their NFL debut.

For McCarthy – who ended with 143 passing yards having completed 13 of his 20 attempts – it was a significant moment after having to wait so long to step onto the NFL gridiron.

“It’s been a long journey,” McCarthy said. “I think it’s been 609 days, I think I saw since my last competitive football game, which was the national championship.

“So, it’s been a while of being just in the training room, watching a lot of film, learning the playbook and trying to master that. At the end of the day, it’s such a blessing to be an NFL football player and play in this league.”

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