CHICAGO — What's an epic rise without a fall?

J.J. McCarthy endured six three-and-outs in his first nine professional drives on Monday Night Football at Chicago. His first two went kaput with sacks on third downs; two throws were interrupted upon their release on series No. 5; and his seventh sequence featured a wrong-way touchdown – with a pass intended for star receiver Justin Jefferson, breaking outside, intercepted by cornerback Nahshon Wright.

McCarthy didn't author a perfect NFL debut in his hometown, but he absolutely fostered a storybook comeback. Better yet, he instilled an indelible belief in his teammates by asking them a simple question:

"Where else would you rather be?"

His leadership, his poise, his authenticity – they were all instrumental to Minnesota's 27-24 victory.

"I've never actually said that before, but I feel like it was at the perfect time; guys were kind of just in their head a little bit," McCarthy reflected afterwards. "And I feel like, if you could – a smile goes a long way. So there were a lot of smiles after I said that, and just a little bit of a perspective shift: 'Yeah, things weren't going our way, but we're here doing this together' – and the boys, they responded perfectly."

"It juiced us up, honestly, to hear our quarterback have those words and lead us in that type of way," Jefferson added. "It's definitely something that we need. It's not every time you hear J.J. be that type of guy, but today, game day, when the lights are shining, he knows how to come to work and he knows how to have that dog mentality. And he never gave up. That was the big thing about it. He just kept going, play after play, not really thinking on the interception he had, just all about focusing on the next play."

The youngest starting quarterback in the NFL in Week 1 capped football's return on a glorious summer eve in the Windy City with a post-pick six performance that validated all the traits – mental and physical – that led to him being drafted 10^th overall in 2024 and the organization going all-in on the 22-year-old.

"Obviously, converting third downs early on was an issue to be able to get drives going. But J.J. McCarthy, for him to make some of the plays he did — I told him at halftime, 'You are going to bring us back to win this game,' and the look in his eye was fantastic," Head Coach Kevin O'Connell detailed. "And the best thing is just the belief I felt from the team, the unit, and ultimately, that doesn't get done without him."

McCarthy's interception, on the Vikings first series of the second half, lended a learning lesson that pushed him to become the first starting QB to rally from 10-plus points in the fourth quarter of their NFL debut since Steve Young in 1985 (and first on the road since at least 1950), according to NFL Research.

"You never want to earn wisdom that way. But it just brought me straight back to [playing against] TCU (in the CFP Semifinals on New Year's Eve 2022) when I had that first [interception] early on in the game, and then the second one later. At the end of the day, yeah, it sucks. It's one of the worst things you could do as a quarterback, but can't do anything about it," McCarthy said honestly. "That's one of those things I don't really hang on. And I was really grateful for the way [Quarterbacks] Coach [Josh] McCown and Coach O'Connell handled it – it was everyone on the same page: 'All right, that happened. Next play.' "

O'Connell elaborated on the strategic short-term memory.

"When you have a pick six [with] the way the first half went, normally, that's enough for a lot of teams to go ahead and pack their stuff up and head home," the coach said. "I just told him, just like the whole day, 'Let's just keep playing the next snap together and I promise you we'll find a way.' That's what I told him."

When the final whistle blew, McCarthy was 13-for-20 passing with 143 yards, two touchdowns and the lone turnover, good for a 98.5 passer rating. He also rushed twice – for one of the team's four first-half first downs and the dagger touchdown on a read-option with 2:53 left that put Minnesota ahead 27-17.

That run was extra sweet.

"I was absolutely fired up. It was the perfect time to call it. Coach McCown actually brought it up in his little pregame speech at the hotel. He was talking about how he was running 'Wanda Bear' – that's what we call it – in 2013 and I was probably running it in seventh grade somewhere, but I was actually 10 at the time, so he was pretty close," McCarthy quipped. "The offensive line did a great job; T.J. [Hockenson] with that block on Jaquan [Brisker], and just finishing the job. That was one of my favorites, for sure."

In the aftermath, McCarthy noted his 28-yard completion to Jalen "Speedy" Nailor in the final 19 seconds before halftime — right after Chicago extended its lead to 10-3 via a field goal — as a play "that really got me into a groove." He added: "Just how it expressed itself, how the ball came off my hand there, I felt like it was one of those throws that really gave me that [confidence] we can really do this."

On the next snap, Will Reichard aced a career-long 59-yard field goal.

The "we're-in-this-togetherness" that Minnesota embraced for 60 minutes shouldn't be overlooked.

Newcomers were legit. Defensive tackle Javon Hargrave had two momentous sacks. Linebacker Eric Wilson strapped on the green dot helmet in Blake Cashman's stead once the latter exited with a hamstring injury, and starred on special teams, making a clothesline tackle on kickoff and tipping a Bears punt. Offensively, Jordan Mason rumbled for 68 yards on 15 carries (4.5 avg.), including 53 on nine in the close-out frame. And in the third phase, undrafted rookie Myles Price returned four punts for 68 yards.

The classic holdovers came through, too.

Jefferson, creeping up on 500 career catches, snared one of McCarthy's touchdown tosses, and Aaron Jones, Sr., collected the other. Hockenson caught several balls and nailed the block to spring McCarthy on his TD trot. And Brian O'Neill helped cushion McCarthy's protection so the Vikings could begin 2025 1-0.

"I already knew what J.J. was about. It was just all about showing the world," Jets lauded his QB's grit. "We knew him, coming from Michigan, being a national champion, we knew he had that dog in him."

O'Connell's demeanor over the headset and on the sideline was significant, as well.

"They showed a lot of things that we didn't expect," McCarthy said. "The calm, cool, collected nature that he had gave me so much confidence to try to filter that into my teammates as much as possible."

O'Connell telling McCarthy he was going to will the team to a win "meant everything," McCarthy said.

The boyhood Bears fan and Vikings quarterback continued, "That guy is one of the best, if not the best, head coach, in my opinion, in the National Football League. So any kind of compliment or belief like that, it means the world. And that just gave me all the confidence to go out there and just execute the plays."

O'Connell was particularly complimentary of McCarthy "meeting the moment."

"Part of this thing with a young quarterback is everybody's going to be waiting for the 'aha' moment of like, 'look what happened'," O'Connell remarked. "That can weigh on a player, but not him. I mean, he prepared the right way. And, you know, you talk about meeting the moment, regardless of circumstances, regardless of what the outcome may have ended up being, there is a big-picture plan that, you know, you hope to, you know, not have this chapter be the first chapter of needing to bring your team back so significantly after a really tough start. But, yeah, this is, I mean, there's no — look, there's no way to deny we don't win this game unless J.J plays the way he did in the second half, and most importantly, kept the belief of his football team behind him. And now we know it's possible."

How did all this feel after a rookie season spoiled by a meniscus tear in his right knee?

"I think I'll feel that on the plane ride home," said McCarthy, taking into consideration that his last "competitive" football game (winning the national championship at Michigan) was 609 days ago. "It's been a while of just being in the training room, watching a lot of film, learning the playbook and trying to master that. But at the end of the day, it's such a blessing to be an NFL football player and play in this league, and I'm grateful that we get to go out there next week and play the Falcons on Sunday night."

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