It’s True Grit as J.J. McCarthy Rises for Vikings
After 16 months of anticipation, J.J. McCarthy’s reign began on Monday night, as the Minnesota Vikings rallied to defeat the rival Chicago Bears on their turf, 27-24.
It’s true grit as J.J. McCarthy rises for the Vikings, showing toughness and poise in a performance that has fans shook.
Minnesota played lifelessly on offense for about two hours of real time, awakened by McCarthy’s grit when his team desperately needed a spark.
The Vikings drafted McCarthy in April 2024 for his championship pedigree, clutch gene, and leadership, and the man delivered beyond the shadow of a doubt in his first-ever start.
J.J. McCarthy Shows True Grit
McCarthy, Vikings mesmerize fans out of the gate in 2025.
McCarthy Delivers in 4th Quarter
Let’s be clear: the Vikings’ offense played foolishly in the first half. The team relied on small ball, playing conservatively to evidently avoid making significant mistakes.
The plan flopped, and the moment head coach Kevin O’Connell took the training wheels off McCarthy, the man exploded.
McCarthy accounted for three touchdowns in the 4th Quarter — two by air, one by foot — engineering a comeback that Vikings fans will remember and talk about glowingly for the rest of their lives.
Here’s the short version:
McCarthy’s final statline? 3 touchdowns, 143 passing yards, 25 on the ground, and 1 interception.
A Fantastic Omen
Pretend, for example, that McCarthy’s comeback never occurred and that Minnesota’s season never fully took off, despite somewhat lofty expectations.
If the team owned a 4-10 record in December sometime, and McCarthy finally put together a 4th Quarter like he did in Week 1, but in a late-season game, fans would still be elated with his growth, encouraged that the young passer had the moxie for such an accomplishment.
But on Monday night, McCarthy created heroism in his first-ever game. If the man is capable of winning at Soldier Field in his first game — after his team looked moronic for three quarters — the sky is truly the limit. The grit was on display.
The Moment Fans Have Waited For
Fans have crossed their fingers for this moment for years, if not decades. McCarthy generated 3 touchdowns in the final period with his team down 17-6. Minnesota has fired up other comebacks over the years, but never with a 22-year-old passer that it organically drafted.
The last terrific starting quarterback drafted by Minnesota was named Daunte Culpepper — and the franchise pulled him out of the 1999 NFL Draft. Yes, 26 years ago.
Since, the Vikings have vacillated between countless veterans while attempting failed rookie experiments with Christian Ponder (2011-2013: poor performance) and Teddy Bridgewater (2014-2017, injury).
For a night, it feels like the team got it right by picking McCarthy.
Continued Domination in Chicago
The Vikings have now defeated the Bears six consecutive times at Soldier Field. Before 2019, the venue represented a true house of horrors, the spot for sloppiness, weirdness, and often, general ineptitude.
But after a 2019 loss, the Vikings have not lost at the building, and O’Connell is undefeated in four trips.
McCarthy’s grit and gallantry at Soldier Field are merely the latest chapter.
McCarthy on the Dub
After throwing a ruthlessly careless interception that was returned for a touchdown, McCarthy said to his teammates in the subsequent huddle, “Where else would you rather be?”
“I’ve never actually said that before, but I feel like it was at the perfect time; guys were kind of just in their head a little bit. And I feel like, if you could — a smile goes a long way. So there were a lot of smiles after I said that, and just a little bit of a perspective shift: ‘Yeah, things weren’t going our way, but we’re here doing this together’ — and the boys, they responded perfectly.”
And after McCarthy’s game-winning touchdown scamper, he recalled the moment: “I was absolutely fired up. It was the perfect time to call it. Coach McCown actually brought it up in his little pregame speech at the hotel, and he was talking about how he was running ‘Wanda Bear’ — that’s what we call it — in 2013, and I was probably running it in seventh grade somewhere, but I was actually 10 at the time, so he was pretty close on that one.”
“The offensive line did a great job; T.J. Hockenson with that block on Jaquan Brisker, and just finishing the job. That was one of my favorites, for sure.”
Justin Jefferson said about his new quarterback: “I already knew what J.J. was about. It was just all about showing the world. We knew him, coming from Michigan, being a national champion, we knew he had that dog in him.”
“And really today, seeing his composure and seeing his grit and seeing him lead the team, you know, even when we were down, it goes a long way.”
McCarthy gets primetime again in five days when the Vikings host the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football.
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