For a long time on Monday night, it looked like Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy’s debut would be ruined by the upstart Chicago Bears. However, Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell showed confidence in his young signal caller, and McCarthy persevered, and Minnesota walked away with a 27-24 divisional win.
After Bears’ quarterback Caleb Williams marched his team down the field for a touchdown on their first drive, the Vikings defense stiffened and shut down the Chicago offense the rest of the way. And Justin Jefferson, who was very quiet in the first half, showed the NFL why he is the best in the business.
Vikings Start the Game Slowly
After the Vikings could not convert on their first possession, Williams took the reins on the Bears’ 39-yard line. The young quarterback mixed the run and the pass and confidently led his team down the field. The highlight was a 17-yard strike from Caleb to Rome Odunze that moved the ball to the Minnesota 13-yard line. Three players later, Williams kept it himself around the left side for nine yards to give Chicago a 7-0 lead.
A pass interference penalty and a scramble by McCarthy brought the ball down to the 14-yard line. The drive stalled, and Vikings kicker Will Reichard came in and booted a 31-yard field goal to cut the Bears’ lead to 7-3. Both defenses were stout, but Chicago was able to add to their lead with a Cairo Santos 42-yard field goal with 28 seconds remaining in the first half.
But the Vikings were not headed to the locker room yet. On the second play of their final second-quarter drive, McCarthy hit a streaking Jalen Nailor for a 28-yard gain and was pushed out of bounds at the Bears’ 11-yard line. O’Connell contemplated airing it out but instead sent Reichard in for a 59-yard field goal attempt. The kick was low, but had the distant and the half ended 10-6, Chicago. For the Vikings kicker, it was the longest field goal of his young NFL career.
Second Half Brought Immediate Disaster
The Bears were forced to punt on their first drive of the second half, but then the Chicago defense made a big play. Four plays into the Vikings’ next possession, McCarthy threw a ball to the left side intended for Jefferson. But Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright jumped the route and rambled for 74 yards for the pick 6. Chicago extended the lead to 17-6.
And it stayed like that until the beginning of the fourth quarter when McCarthy led his team on an eight-play 60-yard drive that culminated with a 13-yard touchdown pass. The two-point conversion failed, leaving the Bears with a 17-12 lead. Chicago came up short on their next drive when Vikings defensive tackle Javon Hargrave sacked Williams for an eight-yard loss.
Exciting Finish
After Minnesota’s new punt returner, Myles Price, returned the ensuing punt to the 50-yard line, McCarthy and the Vikings offense wasted no time taking the lead. J.J. hit running back Aaron Jones Sr on the right side for a 27-yard score, giving Minnesota its first lead of the night. McCarthy then converted the two-point conversion on a toss to local hero Adam Thielen for a 20-17 Vikings lead.
The Bears could do nothing with their next possession, and Minnesota was poised to strike again. With some short receptions and hard running by Jones and new Vikings running back Jordan Mason, McCarthy and the offense took 4:31 off the clock, and he finished the drive off with a 14-yard dash around the right side to push the score to 27-17 Minnesota with 2.59 left in the game.
Chicago, to their credit, still had fight left in them, and Williams converted a one-yard touchdown pass to Odunze with 2:05 left on the game clock. The Vikings used up most of the remaining time and left the field with their hard-earned win.
Recap
McCarthy finished his night 13-20 for 143 yards and two touchdown passes, also scoring one on the ground. Mason led all Vikings ball carriers with 68 rushing yards. Jefferson and seven other pass catchers were on the receiving end of McCarthy’s completions. Josh Metellus led all Vikings’ defenders with six tackles, and Hargrave added two sacks.
The Vikings’ next game is this coming weekend against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday night at U.S. Bank Stadium. Game time is scheduled for 7:20 pm CDT.
