12 Instant Vikings Reactions to the J.J. McCarthy’s Masterclass
The J.J. McCarthy era is underway for the Minnesota Vikings, and it began tremendously.
He did it. J.J. McCarthy’s Minnesota Vikings won on Monday Night Football, against all odds when the chips were down. Here’s the skinny.
The Vikings suffered through a mostly nauseating first half — they looked buffoonish — only to barnstorm Monday Night Football and prevail over the Chicago Bears by a score of 27-24.
Here’s what stood out.
Snap Reactions to the Vikings Week 1 Win over the Bears
My, oh my. McCarthy did it.
1. Given the choice of Minnesota going into Chicago and winning 41-0 — or struggling and asking McCarthy to drag the squad back when all was lost, most would pick the latter. Vikings fans would’ve done cartwheels in Week 13 or so if McCarthy pulled off his first 4th Quarterback comeback in such a theatrical fashion. The fact that he pulled it off in his first-ever game is nothing short of remarkable.
It is not accidental, nor is it an outlier, that McCarthy showed that dog in soul right away in the NFL. The guy will be good. You can book it.
2. Eric Wilson flew all over the damn place — on special teams and defense. He felt like an ornamental offseason signing, but the man is much more than that. His reunion with the purple team was more impactful than Adam Thielen’s in Week 1.
3. General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah has done it again. Undrafted wide receiver Myles Price returned punts and kicks reliably. He even showed flashes of breakaway potential. The man will return a punt for a touchdown in the next year or so. He played great at Chicago.
4. Kicker Will Reichard saved the game. He drilled a 59-yard field goal when the game felt hopeless. It was probably the most anticlimactic 59+ yard field goal in Vikings history. On the scoreboard, in the end, it won the game.
5. Caleb Williams is an escape artist. His escapability is mind-boggling. For now, however, he looks like juiced-up Joshua Dobbs with spiffy draft stock. He has a long way to go before entering the league’s top-tier of quarterbacking. His missed touchdown pass late in the game was cringeworthy.
6. Minnesota had too many drops. Justin Jefferson looked like — checks notes — preseason Justin Jefferson early on, refusing to bail McCarthy out when he needed somebody to make plays. Then, Thielen dropped a gut-punch, would-be 3rd Down conversion. The drops need cleansing.
7. Jordan Mason appeared to take over an RB1 workload, even if Aaron Jones caught a momentous touchdown from McCarthy. For at least one night, Mason had more juice than Jones, which makes sense because Mason is five years younger.
8. The Vikings went through this odyssey:
- They look like garbage; they deserve to lose.
- They’re getting dominated, but they’re only down 11 points.
- Ope, they’re coming back.
- They came back!
- There’s just no way you can collapse and lose this game now. Don’t do this to me.
What a ride.
9. Andrew Van Ginkel nearly snatched his patented Gink-Six finishing move. Oh, so close. On the whole, Van Ginkel played well, and Minnesota’s pass rush got into the backfield frequently. Maybe next week or soon, they won’t play a quarterback with Houdini escapability.
10. Blake Cashman could be out for a while — he’s no stranger to injuries — so get ready for the Eric Wilson experience.
11. On the first two-point conversion, after the Bears’ dumb penalty, Minnesota just would not run the ball from the one-yard line. They passed to Josh Oliver, who was promptly gobbled up. With a revamped offensive line and pounder like Mason, O’Connell must warm up to pounding the rock when the situation calls for it.
12. Sadly, the Vikings’ schedule doesn’t really get easier. Knowing what we know now, this was a must-win game with several daunting opponents on the schedule — basically the rest of the way.
Bonus: For McCarthy to rebound from a wretched — absolutely unholy — pick-six to former Vikings corner Nahshon Wright, well, his character showed through.
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