The Minnesota Vikings opened their 2025 regular season with a thrilling comeback win against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field. It wasn't always pretty, but the Vikings walked away from Week 1 with the victory.
Quarterback JJ McCarthy made his NFL debut on Monday night after sitting behind Sam Darnold last year. McCarthy looked rough in the first half, but he turned it around in the second half to lead the Vikings' comeback.
There's a lot of expectation around McCarthy in 2025, after being the 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft out of Michigan. However, after his rough start, head coach Kevin O'Connell's confidence in the former Wolverine star never wavered.
Kevin O'Connell Delivered Confiding Halftime Message
McCarthy's NFL debut did not start off on the right foot. The Michigan product struggled in the first half, passing for fewer than 100 yards and an interception.
However, his head coach continued to believe in him and he showed up in the second half.
"I told him at halftime, 'You are going to bring us back to win this game.' And the look in his eye was fantastic," O'Connell said. "The best thing is just the belief I felt from the team, the unit. That doesn't get done without him in the second half - two passing touchdowns, and then the critical rushing touchdown, you know, at the end."
The future in Minnesota is BRIGHT.
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) September 9, 2025
JJ McCarthy is a stone-cold killer 😈pic.twitter.com/G7dbj2Wan1
McCarthy balled out in the second half, completing six of his eight pass attempts for 87 yards and three total touchdowns.
After the game, O'Connell credited McCarthy again in his postgame locker room speech after the young quarterback's first career start.
"Lastly, none of this happens, this feeling that we have right now, does not happen without one other guy. Alright, did not go the way any us wanted," O'Connell said. "This guy - I could tell from the jump. He was poised. He was poised. But, this guy didn't quit. Me, and you always thought he would figure it out.
None of this happens without 9️⃣@jjmccarthy09 pic.twitter.com/67sPd0b9r8
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 9, 2025
"Two passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown all in the second half. That's why you guys put a 'C' on his chest, and that's why he's going to break us down right now."
O'Connell delivered one of the many postgame speeches from the NFL's opening week that will give you chills watching it. The head coach always believed in his first round quarterback, and McCarthy delivered in the second half.
The Michigan product made his NFL debut in primetime, on Monday Night Football, but that didn't phase him. After all, he won a national championship for the Wolverines in college.