McCarthy stars on NFL debut as Vikings beat Bears

Quarterback JJ McCarthy inspired the Minnesota Vikings to a late comeback win over the Chicago Bears on his NFL debut.

The 22-year-old, a first-round Draft pick in 2024, sat out last season with a knee injury.

He threw two touchdowns and ran for another as the Vikings triumphed 27-24 at Soldier Field in Chicago.

The Bears led 17-6 heading into the fourth quarter, but the Vikings responded with 21 unanswered points on three consecutive drives.

McCarthy, who was born in Chicago, found Justin Jefferson with his first touchdown pass, hit Aaron Jones Sr with an angled 27-yard pass, then put the Vikings 10 points up with a 14-yard scramble.

"There's no way to deny that we don't win this game unless JJ plays the way he did in the second half and, most importantly, kept the belief of his football team behind him," said Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell.

"Now we know it's possible. We hope to not be in these circumstances very often, but his team's made of the right stuff."

The game was Ben Johnson's first in charge of the Bears, who led thanks to a rushing touchdown from Caleb Williams and a Nashon Wright touchdown from a 74-yard interception.

After the Vikings' late rally, Williams threw a one-yard touchdown pass to Rome Odunze with two minutes remaining.