J.J. McCarthy comes on strong down stretch in debut as Vikings beat Bears 27-24 in opener

CHICAGO — J.J. McCarthy threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and ran for another in his long-awaited NFL debut, and the Minnesota Vikings rallied for a season-opening 27-24 win over the Chicago Bears on Monday night.

Chicago’s Caleb Williams had his first career rushing touchdown and threw for a score in Ben Johnson’s first game as the Bears’ coach.

McCarthy delivered down the stretch after struggling through the first three quarters. The Vikings and coach Kevin O’Connell are counting on the former Michigan star after he missed his rookie season due to a knee injury, and he delivered when it mattered.

Things weren’t looking good for McCarthy after Nahshon Wright returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown to give Chicago a 17-6 lead in the third quarter. But he turned it around in the fourth.

McCarthy connected with Justin Jefferson for a 13-yard touchdown. His 2-point conversion pass failed.

Minnesota then needed just three plays to grab the lead, with McCarthy throwing a 27-yard TD pass to Aaron Jones. The conversion pass to Adam Thielen put the Vikings on top 20-17 with 9:46 remaining.

McCarthy made it a 10-point game with about three minutes left when he faked a handoff and turned up the right side for a 14-yard touchdown run. Chicago then went 65 yards for a score, with Williams throwing a 1-yard TD pass to Rome Odunze with just over two minutes remaining, but the Vikings hung on to beat the Bears for the eighth time in the past nine games.

McCarthy, drafted with the No. 10 pick in 2024, completed 13 of 20 passes for 143 yards. He grew up in the Chicago area and the first game he attended at Soldier Field was against the Vikings 18 years ago.

Jefferson and Jones each had 44 yards receiving.

Will Reichard kicked two field goals, including a 59-yarder near the end of the first half that matched a Soldier Field record.

Williams, coming off a shaky rookie season after being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick, completed 21 of 35 passes for 210 yards and a score. The former Heisman Trophy winner also got his first rushing TD when he scored from the 9 yards out in the first quarter.

Wright, who played for Minnesota last season, made it an 11-point game early in the third when he jumped the route on a pass intended for Jefferson and went untouched along the sideline for his first career touchdown.

Injuries

Vikings: LB Blake Cashman left with a hamstring injury. … S Harrison Smith (illness) did not travel with the team. … OT Christian Darrisaw, coming back from a torn ACL last season, was inactive.

Bears: The Bears were missing three important defensive players, with CB Jaylon Johnson (groin), CB Kyler Gordon (hamstring) and LB T.J. Edwards (hamstring) inactive.

Up next

Vikings: Host Atlanta on Sunday.

Bears: Visit defending NFC North champion Detroit on Sunday.