J.J. McCarthy’s 4th Quarter Grit Lifts Vikings in Opener
It was a rough first half for first-time starting QB J.J. McCarthy, as he was hesitant, leading to two sacks and only 48 passing yards (28 of the yards on his pass to Jalen Nailor that set up Will Reichard’s 59-yard field goal).
When McCarthy threw a Pick 6 to former Vikings practice squader Nahshon Wright against a zero blitz two minutes into the third quarter for a 17-6 Bears lead, it felt like the Vikings were doomed in their opener.
J.J. McCarthy’s fourth-quarter grit lifted the Vikings to an opening win, as all three phases stepped up late. Here’s how the rookie delivered under pressure.
But the Vikings defense held the Bears to one field goal in nine drives after the opening TD drive in which Chicago QB Caleb Williams repeatedly escaped pressure and ran for big plays, including a 9-yard TD. The special teams contributed in several key ways. The running game, led by the offensive line and Jordan Mason, wore down the Bears’ defense, setting up McCarthy for a stunning fourth-quarter turnaround with three straight touchdown drives to surge to a 27-17 lead.
McCarthy showed grit and resilience as he never gave up in the face of adversity for three quarters. Kevin O’Connell let the second-year QB throw it downfield as the game turned and McCarthy’s confidence grew. The final TD on the 14-yard read-option run by McCarthy was a great play call by O’Connell on 3rd and 1 with the Bears expecting a Mason run.
J.J. McCarthy Blows Fans’ Minds in Start No. 1 for Vikings
That run showcased McCarthy’s speed, athleticism, and toughness, as he dove into the end zone behind a great block from T.J. Hockenson.
It was a vital opening win in a divisional road game before a national audience on Monday Night Football to start the season on a positive note.
Here are my other reactions to the Vikings’ 27-24 victory at Soldier Field:
1. I thought the key series in the game came late in the third quarter with Chicago up 17-6 and driving for another score. The Bears drove to the Vikings’ 24 before a holding penalty, two incompletions, and an intentional grounding penalty on Williams forced a 50-yard field goal attempt that Cairo Santos missed. That set the Vikings up at their 40 in good field position before the drive to the first TD on the pass from McCarthy to Jefferson. Mason began that drive with runs of 7 and 18 yards to set up the play action game.
2. Here are two exciting facts from McCarthy’s late-game heroics: he’s the first QB in league history to account for three fourth-quarter touchdowns in his NFL debut, and he’s the first starting QB since Steve Young in 1985 with a fourth-quarter comeback of 10-plus points in his debut. He had growing pains as expected in the first half, but his finish and victory are great to build on.
McCarthy’s passer rating went from 79.2 in his lackluster first half to 98.5 for the game.
3. The Vikings must fix the late snaps that happened too often, with play calls not coming quick enough or McCarthy not getting snaps off with less than five seconds on the play clock.
McCarthy needs to get the ball out quicker, especially early in games. He held onto the ball too long in the first three quarters, leading to sacks and unsuccessful scrambles that didn’t materialize until later in the game. A better rushing attack earlier would have helped the offense, as the Vikings had only 35 rushing yards in the first half before gaining 85 yards on the ground in the second half, mostly in the fourth quarter surge, as they shifted more to Jordan Mason in the power running game.
Be better on third downs early in the game: The Vikings did not convert their first eight third downs and were 3 of 12 for the game. On the good side, the defense held the Bears to 3 of 12 on third down conversions and added a fourth-down stop in the second quarter, when I thought Bears’ new head coach Ben Johnson should’ve opted for a field goal and a seven-point lead at that point.
There were not enough targets for Jefferson, especially with the Bears missing Pro Bowl corner Jaylon Johnson (seven targets in the game, only two in the first half) or Hockenson (four targets resulting in only three catches for 15 yards when he had dominated the Bears last seaso,n including seven receptions for 114 yards in the overtime win at Soldier Field). The Bears were putting a lot of pressure on McCarthy early, but more screens and quick passes would’ve helped get the ball to Jefferson and Hockenson as key playmakers.
4. Missed Christian Darrisaw—Justin Skule allowed sacks and pressures over the first three quarters, but he was more effective late in the game as the O-line took over. I was impressed overall with the play of first-round pick Donovan Jackson in his NFL debut, and newcomers Ryan Kelly at center and Will Fries played well as the offense got on track down the stretch.
5. Javon Hargrave (five tackles, two sacks, two tackles for loss), Jonathan Allen (three tackles and several pressures), and Jalen Redmond (two tackles and effective against the run) are a big improvement over last year on the defensive front. Levi Drake-Rodriuez also had a tackle for loss. Edge rushers Andrew Van Ginkel (five tackles) and Jonathan Greenard (two tackles) frequently pressured Williams, although they couldn’t quite catch him, and they were solid run defenders.
6. Caleb Williams was tough to catch and bring down on Monday night. However, he got rattled when pressured, which was evident when the Bears’ offense bogged down, with Williams missing many throws after the first series. The Vikings’ run defense was excellent for the most part against D’Andre Swift (17 carries, 53 yards, 3.1 average), as the elusive Williams was Chicago’s leading rusher with 58 yards, but the Vikings did a better job containing him in the second half.
7. Eric Wilson played well after leading tackler Blake Cashman left late in the third quarter with a hamstring injury (sustained while chasing Williams on a scramble) that the Vikings hope is not serious. Wilson is a valuable addition as a 10-year vet who also is a key special teamer (he blocked a punt to set up the final TD drive).
8. Speaking of special teams, there were lots of contributions: Will Reichard’s 59-yard field goal at the end of the first half tied a Soldier Field record; Myles Price had an excellent game as the punt returner with a 17-yard average (ranking first in the league in Week 1 among players with more than one punt return); there was Wilson’s blocked punt that only went 25 yards and Ryan Wright had a great final punt of 49 yards that an excellent returner in Devin Duvernay made a fair catch on (he should’ve returned it).
The kickoff coverage unit needs work after Duvernay and Luther Burden averaged 31.3 yards on four returns.
Santos made a mistake by not sending his final kickoff out of the end zone, which would have given the Vikings a chance to score before the two-minute warning. It was smart and humorous to see O’Connell waving at Ty Chandler to return the kick from deep in the end zone, which helped the Vikings run the clock down to 16 seconds before Wright’s final punt.
9. Secondary still a concern—too many times Bears receivers were wide open, including on the final TD pass from Williams to Rome Odunze, and a coverage bust between Isaiah Rodgers and Jay Ward almost resulted in a long TD to D.J. Moore, but a frazzled Williams overthrew it. Harrison Smith is needed to solidify a secondary that was too often out of position, and Theo Jackson was very up and down in this game, with some missed tackles and loose coverage.
10. Too many penalties for the Vikings (eight for 50 yards) but the Bears were worse (four false starts at home were among 12 penalties for 127 yards including a questionable pass interference call in the fourth quarter when it appeared Jalen Nailor slipped and fell on the shaky Soldier Field newly resodded turf).
11. Injury concerns—the Vikings need Darrisaw, Smith, and Cashman, along with C.J. Ham, for his fullback and special teams play when he comes off IR after Week 4.
Around the NFL Observations
There were several exciting games in Week 1 as the regular season commenced.
1. The Vikings’ comeback to beat the Bears was terrific, but even better was Josh Allen leading the Bills from 15 points down in the final four minutes to beat the Ravens 41-40. Allen passed for 394 yards and two TDs and had two rushing TDs.
2. Green Bay made a loud statement in their dominant 27-13 home win over two-time defending NFC North champion Detroit. Jordan Love threw two TD passes, and the Packers’ defense sacked Jared Goff four times and intercepted him once. Micah Parsons had a sack and several pressures in his Packer debut. He makes the Green Bay defense much better. The Lions definitely miss their two O-line starters who departed—Frank Ragnow to retirement and Kevin Zeitler to Tennessee in free agency.
3. Aaron Rodgers had a surprisingly strong debut for the Steelers. He threw for 244 yards and four TDs with no turnovers in a close 34-32 road win over the Jets.
4. Last year’s two Super Bowl teams opened with different results. The Eagles outlasted the Cowboys 24-20 with Jalen Hurts’ two rushing TDs leading the way. The Chiefs were upset by the Chargers 27-21 in Brazil as Justin Herbert threw for 318 yards and three TDs in outdueling Patrick Mahomes (258 passing yards, one TD pass).
5. The Vikings Week 2 opponent in the home opener on Sunday Night Football—the Atlanta Falcons—lost 23-20 to divisional rival Tampa Bay despite a solid game by Michael Penix Jr., who passed for 298 yards and one TD and had a rushing score.
Younghoe Koo missed a potential game-tying 44-yard field goal with six seconds left. The Bucs held Pro Bowl back Bijan Robinson to 24 rushing yards, but he did have six catches for 100 yards, including a 50-yard TD, so the Vikings defenders will have to watch for him running routes out of the backfield.
The Vikings-Falcons game will be a matchup between two top 10 QBs from the 2024 draft—McCarthy (No. 10) and Penix (No. 8). Vikings DC Brian Flores turned up the blitzing heat on Williams after he completed his first 10 passes, and Flores is sure to unleash his defenders with plenty of blitzes against Penix.
The Vikings’ corners will face a tough test if Drake London and Darnell Mooney can play Sunday night, as both are dealing with shoulder injuries.
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