JJ McCarthy got off to a shaky start in his NFL debut on Monday Night Football against the Chicago Bears, but the young quarterback ended up leading the Minnesota Vikings to an impressive victory. After McCarthy threw a pick-six in the third quarter, the Vikings went down 17-6. That was the score heading into the fourth quarter. Things looked bleak for the Vikings, and how did McCarthy respond? With two passing touchdowns and one rushing TD in the final frame. The Vikings won 27-24.
The Vikings looked dead in the water, but JJ McCarthy put the team on his back in the fourth quarter. McCarthy is the first QB to overcome a 10-point deficit in a debut since Steve Young in 1985, and he is the first QB in NFL history to account for three TDs in the fourth quarter of a debut.
“JJ McCarthy becomes the first QB to overcome a deficit of 10 points or more and win in his NFL debut since Steve Young did it in 1985,” The Daily Norseman said in a post.
“JJ McCarthy is the first player in NFL history to account for 3 TDs in the 4th quarter of his NFL debut,” Jordan Schultz said in a post.
Not only is McCarthy the first player to overcome a 10-point deficit in his debut since Steve Young in 1985, but he is the first player since 1950 to do it on the road.
McCarthy got the Vikings back in it early in the fourth quarter when he hit Justin Jefferson in the end zone for his first NFL TD. Then, McCarthy connected with Aaron Jones to give Minnesota the lead just a few minutes later. The Vikings continued to gives the Bears' offense problems, resulting in McCarthy getting the ball back shortly after. He essentially iced the game with a 14-yard TD run in the final minutes to put the Vikings up 10.
The first few quarters were rough for JJ McCarthy, but he more than made up for it with his historic fourth quarter performance. It looks like McCarthy has settled in, and he could be a dangerous QB in the NFL.
