McCarthy gets it together in second half, lifts Vikings

J.J. McCarthy’s long-awaited debut for the Minnesota Vikings was looking more like a nightmare.

- ASSOCIATED PRESS

NAM Y. HUH Associated Press VIKINGS quarterback J.J. McCarthy scores on a 14-yard touchdown run Monday.

Even so, coach Kevin O’Connell could sense things were going to change. And he told his quarterback that at halftime.

“You are going to bring us back to win this game,” O'Connell said he told McCarthy.

McCarthy did just that in the fourth quarter, throwing for two touchdowns and running for another, and the Vikings rallied for a season-opening 27-24 win over the Chicago Bears on Monday night.

Chicago’s Caleb Williams had his first career rushing touchdown and threw for a score in Ben Johnson’s debut as the Bears’ head coach.

McCarthy delivered down the stretch after struggling through the first three quarters in his first meaningful game since Michigan beat Washington for college football’s national championship at the end of the 2023 season.