Minnesota quarterback J.J. McCarthy, making his NFL debut in his hometown on Monday, rallied the Vikings past the Chicago Bears 27-24 in the NFL season opener for both clubs.
After throwing an interception that was returned 74 yards for a Chicago touchdown to give the hosts a 17-6 lead, 22-year-old McCarthy ignited a Minnesota fightback with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make a triumphant NFL debut.
“It’s surreal,” McCarthy said. “Your first NFL win and I just can’t be more proud of the guys. I was really proud of how we responded because there’s going to be a lot of gritty games in the future.”
Photo: AFP
McCarthy completed 13 of 20 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns, and ran for what proved to be the winning touchdown.
“Getting the win, that’s what I’ll remember most,” he said. “Being in the hometown, it’s a dream come true and to all the kids out there, it’s possible. I just love my guys and can’t wait to go to war next week.”
McCarthy was the first quarterback to rally from more than 10 points down in the fourth quarter and win his NFL debut since Steve Young in 1985.
“It was game 1. We have a lot of things to clean up. We were just figuring it out,” McCarthy said. “It just came down to execution.”
McCarthy was talking to blockers and receivers when not on the field in the final minutes, trying to inspire.
“We’ve got to believe,” McCarthy said he told his teammates. “That’s one thing we can do is control the controllables. I believe in going out there and executing that next play. It’s just as simple as that. We’ve got a great group and everyone was on the same page with that.”
McCarthy, who grew up a Bears fan in suburban Chicago, suffered a knee injury in last year’s pre-season opener and missed what would have been his rookie campaign, but he recovered and this year took over a Vikings team that went 14-3 last season.
For three quarters, the Bears held command.
Chicago quarterback Caleb Williams scored on a nine-yard touchdown run with 7 minutes, 56 seconds elapsed in the first quarter, completing all six passes for 51 yards in the 61-yard march.
Williams started the game with a career-best 10 for 10 completions, the longest completion streak to start a Bears season since 1978.
Minnesota’s Will Reichard answered with a 31-yard field goal, Chicago’s Cairo Santos connected from 42 yards, but Reichard kicked a career-long 59-yard field goal with six seconds remaining in the second quarter to lift the Vikings within 10-6 at halftime.
McCarthy drove Minnesota deep into Bears territory, but threw an interception to Chicago’s Nahshon Wright, a former Viking who returned the ball 74 yards for a touchdown early in the third quarter for a 17-6 Bears’ lead.
McCarthy revived the Vikings in the fourth quarter with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson and a 27-yard touchdown pass to Aaron Jones, plus a two-point conversion pass to Adam Thielen that gave Minnesota a 20-17 edge with 9:46 remaining.
McCarthy added a 14-yard touchdown run around right end to give the Vikings a 27-17 lead with 2:53 remaining.
Williams answered with a one-yard touchdown toss to Rome Odunze and Chicago pulled within the final margin with 2:02 remaining, but Minnesota ran out the clock.
The Bears have not had a winning season since 2018 and have not won a playoff game since the 2010 season.
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