CHICAGO — J.J. McCarthy's NFL debut wasn't perfect, but the fourth quarter was worthy of display in an art museum (traditional or contemporary — take your pick).

The second-year quarterback withstood the emotions of returning to his hometown and throwing his first career pick six, which was returned by former Viking Nahshon Wright 74 yards to put the Bears up by 11 in the fourth quarter.

It turned out to be Chicago's lone score of the third quarter as Minnesota's defense began getting stops, special teams provided sparks, and the offense began shifting gears.

McCarthy and Vikings rallied with 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter for a 27-24 victory at Soldier Field on Monday Night Football.

Roughly 15 miles from La Grange Park where McCarthy grew up, he shined the brightest in the fourth quarter.

He went 6-for-8 with 87 yards and touchdowns of 13 to Justin Jefferson and 27 to Aaron Jones, Sr., before also scoring on a 14-yard run for a 27-17 lead with 2:53 remaining.

McCarthy finished 13-of-20 with 143 yards and a passer rating of 98.5.

Jefferson led the Vikings with four catches, bringing his career total to 499. He moved past Steve Jordan for fourth on the team's leaderboard.

Here are four more observations presented by Minnesota Eye Consultants, the Proud LASIK Partner of the Minnesota Vikings:

1. Double trouble

Monday provided the first opportunity to show what the tandem of Jones and Jordan Mason could potentially do together.

Jones got the start and finished with eight carries for 23 yards, but his threat in the passing game enabled Minnesota to take its first lead of the season (20-17) with less than 10 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter. He finished with three catches for 44 yards.

Mason led Minnesota with 68 hard-fought yards, helping grind down a hyped Bears defense.

2. Defense eventually affects the passer

The Vikings defense began turning the table in the second half and was able to do so without starting inside linebacker Blake Cashman, who left the game with a hamstring injury.

He was replaced by Eric Wilson, who was flying around on defense and special teams. He tipped one punt, causing it to only fly 25 yards beyond the line of scrimmage, and helped create multiple pressures.

Newcomer Javon Hargrave recorded Minnesota's first two sacks of the season, and the Vikings eventually affected passes by Caleb Williams, who finished 21-of-35 for 210 yards.

3. Sluggish start

The Vikings lost the coin toss, the Bears deferred and delivered a three-and-out when Gervon Dexter, Sr., was able to halt McCarthy for a loss of 1 on third-and-2.

Following a quick punt, Chicago drove 61 yards on 10 plays in 5:41 thanks to Williams' scrambles.

Facing third-and-5, Williams eluded pressure and found Rome Odunze for a gain of 17 to the Minnesota 13-yard line.

Three plays later, Williams finished the drive by scrambling for a touchdown run of 9 yards and a 7-0 Bears lead with 7:04 remaining in the first quarter.

The sluggish start continued through the first half.

McCarthy was just 5-of-8 passing for 48 yards and a passer rating of 79.2 in the first half.

Williams finished the first half 13 of 16 with 112 yards and a passer rating of 95.8. He also scrambled four times for 32 yards as Chicago possessed the football for 18:38 of the game's first 30 minutes.

4. Special on special teams

Vikings second-year kicker Will Reichard blasted a 59-yard field goal just before halftime to make it 10-6 Bears.

The effort was a career long for Reichard, who immediately followed a 28-yard pass from McCarthy to Jalen Nailor to end the two-play drive that lasted just 18 seconds.

Much has been made of the "dynamic kickoff" that was implemented in 2024, but the Vikings punt return game was dynamite on Monday night.

Rookie Myles Price looked cool, composed and completely a threat. He totaled 68 yards on four punt returns for a whopping average of 17.0 yards with a long of 22. Minnesota in 2024 averaged 6.8 per punt return with a long of 15 for the whole season.

Price also returned two kickoffs for 49 yards, and Ty Chandler returned three for 85. Chandler even took one back 7 yards deep late in the game. The play was heads up because it got the game on the inside of the 2-minute warning, allowing Minnesota to avoid punting back to the Bears until 16 seconds remained.

And Ryan Wright uncorked a dandy, 49-yarder with a high flight path to force a fair catch.

Chicago's final attempt resulted in a short completion and a fumble recovered by Jay Ward. Vikings cornerback Jeff Okudah was injured during the play.

View the 2025 Vikings Schedule.

Check out the 2025 International games.

View future opponents for the Vikings.

Buy single game tickets.

Download the official Vikings App.