The Vikings Stat That Will Blow You Away
The kid did it — and then some.
The Vikings have a stat that will blow you away, highlighting a player and performance trend that could change it all in 2025 and beyond.
Trailing the rival Chicago Bears on the road by a score of 17-6 entering the 4th Quarter, quarterback J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings turned on the gas to stun the Bears and win, 27-24.
Along the way, in his maiden voyage, McCarthy shattered records, if that can be believed.
The Vikings Stat(s) You Have to See to Believe
It took one game for McCarthy to make history.
The Almighty Stat
The most shocking — and glorious — statistic from Monday Night Football arrived courtesy of ESPN’s Ed Werder.
He tweeted Monday night, “Per ESPN Research, Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy is the first player in NFL history to account for 3 TD in the 4th quarter of his NFL debut.”
Not Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Dan Marino, Patrick Mahomes, Peyton Manning, Joe Montana, Terry Bradshaw, Johnny Unitas, John Elway, or Fran Tarkenton — none of them — orchestrated a comeback like McCarthy.
What a world.
Don’t Forget the Secondary Stat
Associated Press’ Josh Dubow tweeted, “Teams starting a QB making his NFL debut were 1-37-1 all-time before tonight when trailing by 10+ points at the start of the 4th quarter. The only win was by Dolphins 9/28/1980 after David Woodley got pulled and Bob Griese rallied for a 21-16 win.”
No other way to put it: McCarthy and Minnesota were supposed to lose on Monday night. The numbers predicted as such. McCarthy, on the other hand, had other plans, completing a feat only accomplished once — 45 years ago.
How about the Steve Young Stat?
Finally, ESPN’s Kevin Seifert invoked the great Steve Young.
He wrote on X, “In the past 45 years, two QBs have overcome a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of their NFL debut and won: J.J. McCarthy and Steve Young.”
Anytime Young’s name is mentioned, the person compared is doing something right. And a reminder — this was McCarthy’s first game.
The McCarthy Era Couldn’t Start Any Better
The Bears were not an emphatically tough team to play in a quarterback’s first game, especially with a depleted secondary. Still, without McCarthy experiencing much preseason action, rallying to beat the odds on the road, on a sloppy field, is truly the stuff of memories and legends.
He displayed the knack to overcome adversity and win when the deck is stacked against him.
The first half stunk, but McCarthy’s debut turned out to be remarkable.
Janik Eckardt on McCarthy
Our Janik Eckardt opined on McCarthy’s MNF performance: ‘The Minnesota Vikings secured their first victory of the season by beating the Chicago Bears in the season opener. Young signal-caller J.J. McCarthy made his NFL debut over 16 months after being drafted by the purple franchise. Divisional games on the road are never easy, and this proved to be a tough test for Kevin O’Connell and his team.”
“The Bears came out looking like Ben Johnson had already implemented some of his Detroit magic, and Minnesota’s offense certainly struggled.. McCarthy is still just 22 years old, but his leadership has drawn praise ever since he arrived in the Twin Cities, and even long before that, leadership was a frequent buzzword in his pre-draft reports.”
McCarthy will get his next crack at NFL life on Sunday Night Football when his team hosts the Atlanta Falcons.
“It certainly was not a flawless game from Minnesota’s new QB1, but he pulled off a comeback victory and revealed his clutch gene to the NFL world. McCarthy’s next chance to shine will come on Sunday. It’s a short week for the Vikings, who will once again be asked to perform on national television with the entire league watching,” Eckardt added.
“Kirk Cousins, Atlanta’s backup QB, will make his second return to Minnesota, where his group lost last year against an unstoppable Sam Darnold and his five touchdowns.”
Perhaps McCarthy will break more records in Game No. 2.
You must be logged in to post a comment.