CHICAGO – Excitement filled the Minnesota Vikings’ locker room after their 27-24 victory over the Chicago Bears on Monday night. Every player remembered a special moment from J.J. McCarthy, the young quarterback making his NFL debut.
Confidence in the locker room
Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave recounted how McCarthy assured them that “he had us” at halftime, when the team was losing by four points. Coach Kevin O’Connell highlighted the “incredible look” in McCarthy’s eyes during the comeback in the final quarter, where the quarterback was key to three touchdowns. After an interception that resulted in a touchdown at the start of the third quarter, right tackle Brian O’Neill listened attentively to McCarthy, 22, as he spoke with the players on the sideline.The running back Aaron Jones Sr., whose 27-yard touchdown gave the Vikings their first lead with 9 minutes and 46 seconds remaining in the last quarter, recalled a phrase from McCarthy in the meeting: “Is there anywhere they’d rather be?” McCarthy’s NFL debut came after being selected as number 10 in the 2024 draft by the Vikings and missing his rookie season due to a knee injury. The Vikings bet on him as their starter for 2025, saying goodbye to veterans and not signing free agent Aaron Rodgers.He thought this was going to explode. The conviction in his voice and how he walked the sidelines talking to everyone, little details about different plays, keeping the guys focused in the meeting. It was really cool to see.
Brian O’Neill
At the beginning of the game, McCarthy didn’t seem ready to take the lead. He only managed 48 passing yards in the first half, and the Vikings didn’t convert a third down until his 13-yard touchdown pass to receiver Justin Jefferson with 12:13 remaining in the game. McCarthy threw a touchdown pass to Jones and scored himself on a 14-yard run with 2:53 remaining.
In total, McCarthy completed 13 of 20 passes for 143 yards. He became the first quarterback in NFL history to be responsible for three touchdowns in the final quarter of his debut. He also joined Steve Young as the only quarterbacks in the last 45 years to overcome a double-digit deficit in the final quarter of their debut and win. McCarthy, who grew up in the suburbs of Chicago, said he largely ignored the cheers and boos of the Bears fans. He drew on his experience in the 2022 College Football Playoff semifinals, where he had two interceptions that resulted in touchdowns in a 51-45 loss to TCU.Jefferson commented last week that McCarthy’s college trajectory gave him confidence that, despite an irregular training camp, he would play well when needed. McCarthy now has a 64-3 record in games his team starts, since his sophomore year of high school.You never want to gain wisdom that way, but it led me straight to TCU when I had that first one early in the game and then the second one later and at the end of the day. It sucks. It’s one of the worst things you could do as a quarterback, but you can’t do anything about it. You have to focus on the next play. The defense kept us in it the whole time, so it was up to us to go out and execute and play as one and keep going. It’s one of those things that I don’t really hold on to. And I was very grateful for the way Coach O’Connell handled it and everyone was on the same page.
J.J. McCarthy
The Vikings have tried to build a support system around McCarthy to reduce the likelihood that he has to carry the team at the end of the game. O’Connell relied heavily on running back Jordan Mason, who ran for 54 yards in the second half, and the Vikings got a great game from their defense and special teams throughout the game.We knew he had that dog in him.
Justin Jefferson
But there’s no denying that we don’t win this game unless J.J. plays the way he did in the second half and, most importantly, kept his football team’s faith behind him. And now we know it’s possible. So we hope we’re not in these circumstances very often, but his team is made of the right stuff.
Kevin O’Connell
