The J.J. McCarthy era has arrived in Minnesota.
The Vikings’ first-round pick in 2024 had a rough start to his NFL debut but turned things around to lead Minnesota to a 27-24 win over the Chicago Bears on Monday.
McCarthy went into halftime having thrown for just 52 yards and no touchdowns on 5-of-8 passing as the Vikings trailed 10-6. Things didn’t improve much in the third quarter as he threw a pick-six, but he came to life in the fourth and finished with 143 passing yards, 25 rushing yards and two total touchdowns.
He led Minnesota on three consecutive scoring drives in the fourth quarter. The first ended with a touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson, the second was capped off with a touchdown pass to Aaron Jones to take the lead and McCarthy ran it in himself for his final touchdown to extend the lead.
Vikings fans are feeling good about their new starting quarterback after the impressive turnaround.
Though McCarthy isn’t technically a rookie, he missed all of his rookie season and is seeing NFL action for the first time this year. Naturally, there were going to be some growing pains, but McCarthy showed on Monday that he’s capable of making it in the league.