Murphy: Welcome to the stage, JJ
Brian Murphy goes through the moments and meaning of JJ McCarthy's remarkable debut
By Brian Murphy
The Vikings were celebrating their improbable victory in the locker room, but their toastmaster was slow-playing his goodbye from Soldier Field like a Minnesotan glad-handing their way from the kitchen to the car.
J.J. McCarthy had national interviews to grant, T.J. Hockenson to bro-hug, “Let’s Go!” howls to uncork and autograph seekers to appease before a fastidious handler finally shuffled him through the tunnel to a postgame party 609 days in the making.
That’s how long it had been since the franchise shapeshifter won the 2023 national championship as a Michigan Wolverine. The stakes at NRG Stadium in Houston may have been higher then, but the statement McCarthy made Monday night in his hometown will echo around these parts for years.
As debuts go for Vikings quarterbacks, this was Quentin Tarantino dropping the mic with “Reservoir Dogs,” Usain Bolt two-fisting lightning in Beijing or the Beatles jump-starting the ’60s on the Ed Sullivan Show.
Whether he lifts the Lombardi Trophy in purple, dons a gold jacket or leaves us asking what might have been at some memorabilia show at Mall of America, McCarthy’s first NFL game is already folklore. Not because he led the Vikings to a 27-24 comeback win over the Bears, but because the second-year “rookie” refused to fulfill an all-too-familiar destiny in a game the Vikings seemed doomed to lose.
Nothing could be ghastlier than watching a struggling, young quarterback heave a 74-yard pick-six that turned a potential one-point deficit early in the third quarter into a 17-6 ash heap of doubt, whipping the stadium that McCarthy visited as a childhood Bears fan into a personal house of horrors.
“You know, you never want to earn wisdom that way,” McCarthy said, recounting how he had tossed a pair of interceptions against Texas Christian in the 2022 national semifinals.
“It’s one of the worst things you can do as a quarterback. But you can’t do anything about it. You’ve got to focus on the next play.”
ESPN cameras caught McCarthy pacing the bench and working the room with his crestfallen offense. There is no tougher crowd to win over than shellshocked teammates who don’t know whether they’re staring back at a born leader poised for redemption … or Christian Ponder.
Franchises are always rising and falling in the cutthroat NFL, with the legacies of coaches and general managers hinging not on the how they can judge a quarterback’s arm strength, spin rate and footwork during OTAs, but the bets wagered on his regular-season spine and postseason mettle.
“For a while there,” mused Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell, “it felt like everything that could go wrong, did. Many, many times, teams will wilt in those circumstances. Ours did not.”
O’Connell recognized the swagger and belief in McCarthy’s eyes even as he put up just 48 passing yards in the first half. The Vikings failed to convert their first eight third downs, reliable receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen dropped passes, pass protection flailed and the play clock stalked Minnesota’s idling huddle.
“I felt poise from the very beginning,” O’Connell said. “The best thing was just the belief I felt from the team, from the unit, and ultimately, that doesn’t get done without him in the second half.”
McCarthy threw fourth-quarter touchdowns to Jefferson and Aaron Jones and scampered for another late as Chicago found a recognizable way to lose despite the promising start a retooled quarterback Caleb Williams had under heralded rookie head coach Ben Johnson.
McCarthy completed just 13 of 20 passes for 143 yards. No one will remember those stats, however, after he joined first-ballot Hall of Famer Steve Young as the only quarterbacks in four decades to win their debuts by overcoming double-digit deficits in the final 15 minutes, per ESPN.
Had the Vikings slogged to a 17-13 win without much help from their quarterback, it would have been convenient to dismiss McCarthy’s shortcomings, pull out the bubble wrap and slap a “game manager” decal on his jersey. Like some precious commodity who should take what he is given and let a star-studded roster do the rest.
But there is only one Trent Dilfer wearing a Super Bowl ring, and there may never be another defense like the 2000 Baltimore Ravens. You can’t protect a quarterback from himself in 2025, certainly not in the NFC North.
We learned last season, and it was reaffirmed during Week 1, that this division is going to be a knife-fight among well-coached, big-armed teams with Super Bowl aspirations surging in Detroit, Green Bay and Minneapolis.
You could not have scripted a bigger challenge for McCarthy to overcome during the inauguration. We already knew he could win. But it can take weeks, even years, to learn whether a franchise quarterback can manufacture victories while Rome is burning.
McCarthy’s storybook response and the galvanizing confidence he spoon-fed this hungry locker room may turn that pick-six into a punch line on the lecture circuit. Or the perfect icebreaker for a speech in Canton. Doesn’t take much to dream when you’re a 22-year-old being compared to Steve Young.
McCarthy finally arrived Monday night. Looks like he’s gonna stick around for a while. Vikings fans are in no hurry for a long goodbye.