Key Takeaways From MN Vikings Incredible Comeback Victory Over Bears

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NFL: Minnesota Vikings at Chicago Bears
Credit: Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Minnesota Vikings and their first round quarterback JJ McCarthy made their much awaited 2025 regular season debut on Monday Night Football in week one against the Chicago Bears.

There were a ton of storylines entering this national spotlight game. From McCarthy’s homecoming NFL debut to, the one-sided rivalry between Bears head coach Ben Johnson and Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores to Minnesota’s new ground and pound offensive commitments… this one had it all.

But once the game begins and bodies start flying around the football field, all bets are off. And without a doubt, that is the theme that unfolded in front of our eyes on Monday night.

Minnesota Vikings starters should have played more during preseason

The Vikings came into tonight’s game trying to establish the run… but they were unsuccessful. Meanwhile, KOC was trying with all his might to protect his rookie quarterback making his debut on national television, in a hostile NFC North environment.

Because of their tentative nature early on offensively, Minnesota looked nervous. But when O’Connell tried to entrust McCarthy early in the second half, he repaid him with the first pick-six of his NFL career. Welcome to the league (redshirt) rook…

Not only did JJ McCarthy struggle, but so did Vikings receivers, offensive linemen and running backs. Hell, both Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen dropped passes on third down tonight. If there was one obvious question, it was whether or not Minnesota starters got enough run in the preseason.

Caleb Williams looked like a different dude in first half

With JJ McCarthy struggled in his first career start, Caleb Williams looked like a completely different person with new Bears head coach Ben Johnson calling plays and whispering into his helmet.

The 2024 No. 1 overall pick started Monday night’s game 10-of-10 for 86 yards. Williams finished the first half 13-of-16 (81%) for 112 yards and a 95.8 QB rating. At halftime, Chicago Bears fans and coaches had to feel like they were one more score away from putting this one away… and they got the ball at halftime.

Related: Vikings Defense Extra Confident Entering Matchup vs Caleb Williams, Bears Offense

When Monday’s game went into the fourth quarter, the Vikings were down 17-6 and JJ McCarthy was 9-of-16 for 56 yards, 0 touchdowns and 1 interception. Minnesota’s outlook at the time was bleak, at best.

MN Vikings defense got better as game went on vs Caleb Williams, Bears

But in the second half, after allowing 172 yards of first half offense, letting Caleb Williams look like Fran Tarkenton for two quarters and forcing just two punts, Brian Flores’ defense buckled down and began to suffocate the USC/Oklahoma product, like they had planned to all week.

During the final two quarters tonight, Caleb Williams completed only 8 of his 19 passes, good for an ugly 42% completion rate. His aforementioned 95.8 QB Rating also fell to 76.2.

JJ McCarthy reminds football world why he’s special

Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings’ new quarterback seemed to find his footing as the game went on, as the game slowed down a bit for him. After struggling through three quarters, McCarthy looked like a different guy in the fourth, standing poised in the pocket, completing 6-of-8 passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns.

JJ also showed off his athleticism, running for a touchdown that capped a 8-minute, 21-0 Minnesota run that suddenly had the Vikings on top of the Bears by ten points.

The comeback happened so fast that if you had to go to the bathroom or left the living room for an old fashioned smoke break, you might have come back to a completely different game than the one you left.

Related: Vikings Legend Nails McCarthy’s First TD

Call it JJ’s clutch gene or Chicago’s tendency to fold late in games, but whatever it was, it ended in a Minnesota Vikings 27-24 Monday Night Football opening night victory. But the MN Vikings offensive surge in the fourth quarter tonight went beyond JJ McCarthy’s drive-over-drive improvement.

Minnesota Vikings new-look run games starts slow, finishes strong

In Monday’s final period, after the run game struggled to establish itself for three quarters, the offensive line finally started to wear down the Bears defensive front, opening holes for running backs Aaron Jones and Jordan Mason that were not there during the first three quarters.

Minnesota running backs carried the ball 9 times for just 35 (3.9 YPC) of Minnesota’s 80 offensive yards in the first half. In the second, it was a different story.

During the last two quarters, Jordan Mason carried 11 times for 54 yards, Aaron Jones 5 times for 17 yards. In total, the Vikings ran 17 times in the second half for 85 yards (5.0 YPC), slowly wearing away Chicago’s defense and allowing JJ McCarthy a lot more time on pass plays, especially off play action.

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