EAGAN, Minn. — The eagerly awaited debut of J.J. McCarthy as Minnesota's starting quarterback provided hiccups, a pick six and a gritty and relentless effort that helped the Vikings in a come-from-behind-then-hold-on win against the Bears.

There were ups and downs over the course of the 2025 season, featuring multiple flashes of the reasons Minnesota selected McCarthy with the No. 10 overall pick of 2024, as well as challenging learning opportunities.

Let's start with the pick six.

Former Vikings corner Nahshon Wright stepped in between McCarthy and Justin Jefferson, who ran an out route, and coasted 74 yards for 17-6 lead with 12:51 remaining in the third quarter. Jefferson, who had missed multiple weeks of training camp with a hamstring injury, said the following week he wasn't as dialed in on the route details on the play.

The INT went on the quarterback's stat sheet and foreshadowed a bit of difficulty in establishing the connection between the QB and the four-time Pro Bowler.

How did the response go?

The duo kept at it and connected on a in-breaking route for a 13-yard touchdown with 12:13 left in the game. The 2-point conversion pass failed, however, so the Bears led 17-12.

McCarthy later beautifully placed the football for Aaron Jones, Sr., for a 27-yard score, followed by a 2-point conversion pass to Adam Thielen for a 20-17 lead with 9:46 remaining.

The 2024 No. 10 pick then capped Minnesota's next possession with a 14-yard TD run on third-and-1.

McCarthy became the first starting QB to overcome a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter of an NFL debut and win in regulation since Steve Young in 1985 and the first with at least two touchdowns passes and a rushing score in his NFL debut since Cam Newton in 2011.

Full steam ahead, right?

An ankle injury in Week 2 sidelined McCarthy until Week 9, which also provided an incredibly memorable performance, but the first-year starter encountered numerous valleys in November on his way to some peaks in December/January.

McCarthy finished the game against the Falcons before the Vikings turned to veteran Carson Wentz in Week 3 as Minnesota tamed the Cincinnati Bengals 48-10 thanks to five takeaways, including two for touchdowns.

Wentz, who had joined the Vikings just before the regular season, wound up making five starts for the team he grew up rooting for. The Vikings went 2-3 in those contests, falling to Pittsburgh in Dublin where a comeback attempt fizzled and topping Cleveland in London where a comeback came to fruition. In that contest, however, Wentz suffered an injury to his left, non-throwing shoulder.

He gritted out two more games against Philadelphia and on a short week at the Los Angeles Chargers, wincing his way through that one as an L.A. defense eagerly attacked a Vikings offensive line decimated by injuries, perhaps the most recurring theme of 2025.

McCarthy thrived in his return to Michigan, where he had led the 2023 Wolverines to a natty, but he struggled at home the following week against Baltimore and for much of the game against Chicago. McCarthy led a go-ahead drive in the final minute to position Minnesota for a sweep, but the Bears returned the ensuing kickoff 56 yards to set up a winning field goal.

A week after the disappointing loss, things worsened at Green Bay. McCarthy was limited to 87 passing yards by the Packers and was placed in concussion protocol after the game.

That set up undrafted rookie Max Brosmer to make his first NFL start at Seattle against a tough team in a tough environment to conclude November with the team on a four-game losing streak.

McCarthy returned to action against Washington to open December and began a five-week stretch in which he showed progress that helped combine with a dominant defense and solid special teams for wins against the Commanders and at the Cowboys.

McCarthy's momentum hit another speed bump at the New York Giants, when he left that contest after struggling to grip the football due to a hand injury. Brosmer finished that game cleanly, leading his first career game-winning drive and improved to 1-1 as a starter with a victory over the Lions on Christmas Day. McCarthy opened the season finale but left that game against the Packers early in the second half.

Historical significance

McCarthy became the first player in NFL history to throw multiple touchdowns while logging a rushing score in three of the first eight games of his career.

Since 2000, McCarthy is one of just six QBs under the age of 24 to total at least four wins and score at least 14 total touchdowns in their first eight career starts, joining C.J. Stroud, Patrick Mahomes, Dak Prescott, Aaron Rodgers and Daunte Culpepper.

McCarthy became the fourth QB since 1970 to score at least five touchdowns and secure two road wins in their first three career starts, joining Aaron Brooks (2000), Tony Romo (2006) and Mahomes (2018).

In Week 14 vs. Washington, McCarthy became the first Vikings QB aged 22 or younger since Tommy Kramer (Week 12 of the 1977 season vs. San Francisco) to throw for three passing touchdowns in a single game. It was also the first time a Vikings QB aged 22 or younger has posted a passer rating of at least 125.0 since Kramer in that matchup.

McCarthy became the third Vikings first-year player in franchise history to have a three passing touchdown game with no interceptions, joining Kramer in Week 12 of 1977 and Fran Tarkenton in Week 1 of 1961 (four passing TDs).

The Highest High

The debut at the Bears ended well and meant a lot to McCarthy, the Chicagoland native, and so did his return to Michigan in which he led three touchdown drives in an upset of the heavily favored Lions, but let's go with Minnesota's 34-26 win at Dallas, which was contending for its playoff chances on Sunday Night Football in Week 15.

It's fitting that the highest high for Vikings quarterbacks also have a low point. McCarthy's first pass of the game was tipped at the line of scrimmage by blitzing Donovan Wilson and secured by defensive lineman Quinnen Williams at the Minnesota 35.

The turnover and a fake field goal led to a quick 7-0 lead for Dallas, but McCarthy showed no signs of being rattled. Instead, he showed composure in the pocket, making changes at the line of scrimmage and good decisions with the football. There were explosives, including a 20-yard TD pass to Jalen Nailor to tie the game at 7, as well as a beautiful okey doke on a 1-yard TD run to tie the game at 14.

Trailing 23-17 late in the third quarter, McCarthy connected with T.J. Hockenson for 29 and added back-to-back passes of 23 to Nailor and 10 to Jefferson, setting up a 1-yard TD plunge by C.J. Ham. He then built on the lead on Minnesota's next possession with a scramble for 8 and passes for 18 to Josh Oliver and 18 more to Hockenson to set up a 4-yard TD to Nailor.

Yes, one can point to the Cowboys not being among the league's best defenses, but the responses in a back-and-forth game and composure on a big stage are encouraging signs.

The Lowest Low

In a span of two games (at Green Bay and Seattle), the Vikings offense scored six total points.

McCarthy went 12-for-19 with 87 passing yards and two interceptions in his first action at Lambeau Field. After a special teams error gifted Green Bay a touchdown early in the third quarter, there was nothing Minnesota could do to get things going.

The following week, Brosmer started and completed 19 of 30 passes for 126 yards with four interceptions at Seattle, which secured the No. 1 seed in the NFC Playoffs.

It was a rough eight-day span for the Vikings, particularly in the quarterbacks room.

2 Pressing Questions for 2026

The two pressing questions for the quarterback position we selected for 2025 were "Will the Vikings re-sign Sam Darnold?" and "Will the car keys go to McCarthy?"

The first answer wound up being there was an offer to bring Darnold back, but he opted for what he believed was a better opportunity with Seattle, in terms of years of deal, money of contract and unquestioned role as starting QB. The second answer was, "yes."

During an end-of-season press conference Tuesday in conjunction with Head Coach Kevin O'Connell's session, Vikings General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah noted McCarthy showed "flashes of the player we thought he could be."

A central tenet of Minnesota's 2025 offseason philosophy was to build a roster that could win as the young QB developed. Injuries, particularly on the offensive line, kept the plan from going into full effect and created a situation that would have challenged veteran QBs.

"Maybe the timing didn't work out with other aspects of our team, whether that be injuries or different things like that," Adofo-Mensah said. "But, ultimately, we're comfortable with where we are — and we're excited about where he can go."

1. How do the Vikings view McCarthy at this point?

They view him as a soon-to-be-23-year-old they hoped would have had more in-game reps through two pro seasons. They also view him as a player they are excited to continue to develop.

"J.J. McCarthy is a guy that wants to be great," said O'Connell, the NFL QB who was drafted by New England in 2008. "I know he's going to work tirelessly to do that. I know his teammates have a lot of confidence in what he's going to work to improve this offseason."

Adofo-Mensah separately added: "He wants it more than anybody I've ever been around, and he's got an offseason where he's going to have time to not rehab an injury."

There were plentiful words of support from teammates, including offensive linemen Will Fries and Brian O'Neill as the Vikings cleared out their lockers, and a mic'd up moment with C.J. Ham during Week 18 in which the fullback expressed his confidence.

Jefferson and McCarthy have each said they look forward to developing their chemistry this offseason.

2. What will the Vikings do with the rest of the room?

After Darnold and Daniel Jones departed via good opportunities in free agency, that left McCarthy and Brett Rypien as the only rostered QBs before the draft.

Minnesota initiated a draft-day trade to acquire Sam Howell from Seattle hours before agreeing to terms with Brosmer.

The Vikings went into training camp with McCarthy, Howell, Brosmer and Rypien on the roster and decided during the preseason that Howell wasn't going to fit, so Minnesota traded him to Philadelphia and signed Wentz ahead of the regular season. Rypien departed and later returned by season's end.

The goal of any team is to have the starting QB for all 17 games (unless the 17^th is treated as a bye because it won't affect a club's position in the playoffs), which proved difficult for the Vikings (and other teams across the NFL) in 2025. Minnesota also lost Wentz to a shoulder injury that led to season-ending surgery.

O'Connell and Adofo-Mensah indicated they want Minnesota's quarterbacks room to be deep and talented to help achieve the team's goal of making a deep playoff run.

"It's my job to really bring that deep competitive room that we've talked about to the Vikings," Adofo-Mensah said.

Wentz, who is 49-49-1 in 99 career regular-season starts and turned 33 in December, is a pending free agent but has been in "great contact" with the Vikings, which held exit interviews with every player and coach last week.

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