After a rough start to his NFL debut, missing passes early on before finding the endzone for the wrong team with a Game 1 pick-6 to former teammate Nahshon Wright, JJ McCarthy finally got things together in the second half for the Minnesota Vikings, nailing $140 million man Justin Jefferson for his first NFL touchdown.

Facing off against the Chicago Bears just inside the 15-yard line on 3rd and five, McCarthy kept his eyes locked on Jefferson throughout the play and, when he found a seam in Dennis Allen's zone coverage, delivered a laser to the star wide receiver for the Vikings' first passing touchdown of the season.

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Originally drafted in the first round out of the University of Michigan, McCarthy missed all of his rookie season after suffering a torn meniscus in his right knee during the 2024 preseason. Though he never really had to compete for the starting role heading into Year 2, there were still plenty of questions about how a quarterback who was largely tasked with managing games in college would translate to the NFL level, especially in a divisional showdown against one of the best defensive coordinators in football.

Were the results always pretty? No, but McCarthy flashed on multiple occasions and got his team the lead in the fourth quarter after trailing for the first three. Give him a few more months under Kevin O'Connell, and who knows, maybe the Vikings will be right back in playoff contention this fall, just like they were last season with Sam Darnold at the controls.