J.J. McCarthy rallies Vikings to 27-24 season-opening win over Bears in NFL debut
McCarthy threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and ran for another as Minnesota overcame a third-quarter pick-six to topple Caleb Williams and Chicago at Soldier Field
MINNEAPOLIS — J.J. McCarthy engineered a fourth-quarter comeback in his long-awaited NFL debut, throwing two touchdown passes and running for another as the Minnesota Vikings rallied for a 27-24 season-opening victory over the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
Chicago built a lead in the second half when former Viking cornerback Nahshon Wright returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown, but McCarthy answered late to lift Minnesota. The rookie, who missed his original rookie season with a knee injury, finished 13 of 20 for 143 yards and helped the Vikings overcome a 17-6 deficit.
The Bears opened the scoring when quarterback Caleb Williams scrambled nine yards for his first career rushing touchdown in the first quarter. Will Reichard — kicking for Minnesota — connected on a 59-yard field goal near the end of the first half, matching a Soldier Field record and keeping the Vikings within striking distance.
Wright, who spent last season with Minnesota, turned the game in Chicago’s favor early in the third quarter by jumping a route intended for Justin Jefferson and sprinting down the sideline for his first NFL touchdown, giving the Bears a 17-6 lead.
Minnesota responded in the fourth quarter. McCarthy found Jefferson for a 13-yard touchdown, though the subsequent two-point conversion attempt failed. On the next possession the Vikings needed only three plays for another score: McCarthy threw a 27-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Jones, and the two-point conversion to Adam Thielen gave Minnesota a 20-17 lead with 9:46 remaining.
With about three minutes left, McCarthy faked a handoff and rumbled 14 yards into the end zone to make it a 10-point game. Chicago then drove 65 yards in response, and Williams hit Rome Odunze on a 1-yard touchdown pass with just over two minutes remaining. The Bears could not complete the comeback, and Minnesota held on for the three-point win, its eighth victory in nine meetings against Chicago.
McCarthy, the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 draft, had faced questions about rust after missing his initial NFL season with a knee injury. Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said the team is counting on the former Michigan starter, and McCarthy’s late-game execution provided an encouraging start.
Jefferson and Jones each finished with 44 receiving yards. Reichard supplied two field goals for Minnesota, including the 59-yarder. Williams, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft and the Bears’ first-year starter under coach Ben Johnson, completed 21 of 35 passes for 210 yards and one touchdown while also recording the rushing score.
The game marked Ben Johnson’s first as the Bears’ head coach. Chicago showed scoring balance early but was undone by the turnover that produced the pick-six and by Minnesota’s fourth-quarter surge. McCarthy’s performance provided an immediate boost to the Vikings’ offense after a long wait, while Williams and the Bears walked away with a narrow loss in a closely contested opener.
The teams will turn to their Week 2 schedules with Minnesota aiming to build on the comeback and Chicago looking for adjustments after a promising but ultimately insufficient effort in the season opener.