JJ McCARTHY, the Vikings spoil the debut of Ben Johnson Bears

Chicago – Hi JJ McCarthy. And welcome again to the defense of the Minnesota Vikings.

The new era of the team in the Quarterback began with an exciting victory to return over its rival NFC North in a 27-24 victory over the Chicago Bears.

And for as much attention as McCarthy's debut will generate, it was the defense of the Vikings that kept the team in the game while the offensive fought.

The Bears Campal Marshal, Caleb Williams, completed his first 10 passes, since Chicago took a 10-3 advantage in the second quarter, but the Bears offensive did not score again until the 2:02 remained in the last quarter.

McCarthy represented three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, including 13 -yard passes to Justin Jefferson and 27 yards to Aaron Jones Mr., and his 14 -yard struggle in the fourth quarter put the Vikings for 10 and explained the final margin.

These are the most important things you should know from Monday night for both teams:

What to do with QB performance: If you elaborated a reasonable but optimistic projection of how the first beginning of the NFL of McCarthy would, this would be everything. He seemed frantic in the first half, changed the plays frequently and looked restless in his pocket. An interception returned to a touchdown in the third quarter seemed to finish the game. But McCarthy, who now has 64-3 in the games that has begun since his second year at the university, settled in the second half. The conclusion after your first beginning? McCarthy is a winner.

Trend to see: The Vikings built the idea of ​​their career game to help McCarthy to the transition to their role, and stimulated the team during its second half. The newcomer Jordan Mason achieved only 14 yards in the first half, but his hard career broke the Bears after part time, and ended with 68 yards in 15 haules. Mason's emergence coincided with the first two Touchdown units of the Vikings.

Statistics to know: The Vikings offensive needed help in the first half after accumulating only 80 yards and first four attempts, and Kicker Will Reichard came to the rescue. His 59 -yard field goal just before half a time tied a soldier field record, a remarkable achievement given the bad weather and field conditions historically in Chicago, and was the second longest in the history of the Vikings. The Minnesota record is 61 yards by Greg Joseph, converted into interiors at the US Bank stadium in 2022. – Kevin Seifert

Next game: vs. Atlanta Falcons (8:20 pm et, Sunday)

For almost three complete quarters, Ben Johnson's era seemed that he would begin when he slept the nickname of “the same old bears.” Chicago began its first game of the season in Soldier Field with a touchdown and built a two -digit advantage at the end of the third quarter behind a strong defensive performance.

But the lost opportunities of the bears to distance themselves from the Vikings proved to be expensive. After stirring to the field marshal JJ McCarthy in his NFL debut, the Bears defense fought to contain an offensive of the Vikings that scored 21 points unanswered in the fourth quarter to fight against the advantage of the Bears.

Monday night was the fourth defeat of Chicago in the last four seasons when he entered the last quarter with a two -digit advantage. That is twice that any other team in that period.

For a team that tries to leave the failures last season in the past, the same problems remain a problem.

Crucial moment: The Bears saw an advantage of 17-6 that they built after the waste of six Nahshon Wright during a section that began in the late third room. Williams was marked for an intentional base with Chicago in the 34 -yard line of Minnesota. Two plays later, the 50 -yard field goal attempt at Cairo Santos went well. The Vikings then scored in consecutive possessions to take the lead.

Wasted moment: The defensive coordinator Dennis Allen sent the house to the third and 8 at the beginning of the third quarter with the Vikings in the field of field goals. The seven runners took McCarthy to launch an interception, which resulted in the first touchdown of the defensive/special teams of the 2025 season. Wright jumped the Route of Justin Jefferson and ran back a 74-yard selection to give Chicago a 17-6 advantage. It is the second consecutive season opening in which the Bears opened a game with a pick-six.

What to do with QB performance: The 10 consecutive endings of Caleb Williams to start the game were the longest streak of a Bears Campo Marshal to start a first game of the season since 1978 and the most consecutive endings in his NFL career. But things changed dramatically in the second half. He finished 20 of 34 for 191 yards and scored a rushed TD and passing TD. The qualification of his pin was 84.3 and was fired twice.

Worrying trend: The bears were marked 12 times and accumulated 127 yards of penalty. The Penalizations prior to the SNAP were a problem throughout the training camp and a trend that the bears could not win after four false beginnings in the first half. Two calls of interference of defensive passes led to points for Minnesota: a 31 -yard field goal and the Vikings touchdown. – Courtney Cronin

Next game: In Detroit Lions (1 pm et, Sunday)