McCarthy delivers late as Bears fall to Vikings

Matt Marton - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese · Senior Writer · 6 hours ago

CHICAGO - In what felt like a playoff atmosphere at Soldier Field on Monday night, it was more of the same for the Chicago Bears (0-1) as they opened up their 2025 season against the Minnesota Vikings (1-0) on Monday night football. This was one of those games where one team (the Bears) dominated for three quarters, only to see a similar outcome late on.

With the Bears dominating the Vikings through three quarters and leading 17-6, it was the defense that stood out, as second-year man JJ McCarthy was held to 56 yards passing through three quarters. Then came the most significant momentum shift of the game as Cairo Santos missed a 50-yard field goal that could've potentially put the game away, only to give the Vikings life.

What followed was one of the ugliest fourth-quarter performances in a long time, as the Vikings at one point outgained the Bears 146-0 in the quarter, leading to 21 unanswered points and a 27-17 lead. Chicago managed to score a late touchdown before getting the ball back, but in the end, it wasn't enough, as McCarthy and the Vikings held on for another one-score win, 27-24.

You couldn't have asked for a better start if you were Caleb Williams or the Bears, as they came out swinging. After forcing a quick three-and-out on the Vikings' first possession, the Bears offense drove right down the field against the Vikings defense as a heavy dose of D'Andre Swift helped set the tone before Caleb Williams took it upon himself to score the Bears' first touchdown of the season on a five-yard run to give Chicago the 7-0 lead.

That was the theme of the first half, in reality, the first three quarters, as Williams started the game 10-10 passing before cooling off, but he still managed to go 21-35 with 210 yards and a touchdown. When it comes to the Bears' defense, they made life miserable for McCarthy, as he was held to 56 yards passing through three quarters, with the Vikings' offense looking dormant at best. Had it not been for a pass interference penalty against Aaron Jones on their second possession, the Vikings probably wouldn't have scored, as Will Reichard put them on the board with his first of two field goals.

Williams and the Bears offense continued to pick the Vikings apart on their ensuing possession, with Williams going up top to DJ Moore for 30 yards in what was one of the longest completions of the night for either side. Eventually, that drive would stall out in the end after a turnover on downs, but with Cairo Santos knocking home a field goal late in the second quarter, it was the Bears holding a 10-3 lead with only seconds to go.

Two plays changed the course of this game, and the first of those was a massive 28-yard completion to Jalen Nailor right before the half, which set up a huge 59-yard field goal to pull Minnesota within 10-6. Hoping that pass would jumpstart a massive second half, it was McCarthy making a massive rookie mistake as he telegraphed a would-be pass and watched former Viking Nahshon Wright come away with an interception and taking it the other way for the 74-yard pick six that had the Bears in front 17-6.

Considering Chicago's offense started to struggle on its own front, that interception was huge as the Vikings defense began to make the adjustments necessary to take Williams out of the game. With the third quarter starting to wind down, Ben Johnson elected to go back to the ground in an effort to burn some clock.

Even if Swift struggled to run the ball as a whole with 53 yards on 17 carries, he did find ways to pick up some yards late in the third as the Vikings' defense was starting to wear down. Williams played a role in that, as well as his ability to avoid sacks and scramble for a team-best 58 yards, was lost in this game, as his legs played a considerable role.

Eventually, the Bears would get the ball in the Red Zone only to have two costly penalties push the ball back 20 yards, setting up the potential knockout blow with another Santos field goal. This time, the kick would miss wide as the Vikings dodged a bullet and remained within striking distance. That is the play that changed everything for them as they looked like a completely different team in the fourth and went on to score 21 unanswered points.

Starting with several strong runs from Jordan Mason, who finished with 68 yards on 15 carries, things began to open up in the passing game as McCarthy finally hooked up with Justin Jefferson for a huge 17-yard gain. That was the first of two receptions on that drive as Jefferson hauled in McCarthy's first career touchdown pass later on the drive to make this a 17-12 game.

With the defense forcing a quick three-and-out by the Bears, it was McCarthy and the passing game that wasted no time, as a pass interference call followed by the 27-yard strike to Aaron Jones led to another score, putting the Vikings ahead 20-17. Things only got worse from there for Chicago, which was being outgained 146-0 in the quarter at one point, a truly dominant performance.

Already with two touchdown drives in the fourth, Minnesota aimed to make it three as Mason continued to set things up on the ground. That began to open things up for McCarthy through the air, and despite being held to 143 yards, nearly 90 of those yards came in the fourth as he started to play like a top-10 pick.

Eventually, the Vikings were able to put the game away as McCarthy showcased another element of his game, using his legs to scramble for 14 yards to the end zone and extending their lead to 27-17 with just under three minutes to go. Needing points in a hurry, Williams didn't wait long as a 31-yard strike to Cole Kmet had the ball near midfield, as this game was far from over.

The rest of the drive was aided by several illegal contact penalties from Byron Murphy Jr., which set up another 14-yard touchdown run from Williams to pull the Bears within three. That play wound up being reviewed with the ruling showing Williams stepped out at the one, but one play later, it was Rome Odunze coming down with a one-yard score to pull within 27-24 late, only to have the Vikings nearly run out the clock on their final possession before a last-play fumble sealed the Bears' fate in a tough defeat.