The Minnesota Vikings started their season with a gutsy 27-24 victory over the Chicago Bears on Monday night. Some late-game heroics from quarterback J.J. McCarthy helped seal the win, but head coach Kevin O’Connell was not fully happy with the team’s performance.
O’Connell told Michael Silver of The Athletic that the group will have to patch up certain aspects of their game before the next contest. In particular, the coach called for a more coordinated effort.
“He was frustrated at his team’s overall performance that preceded the final-quarter flurry, saying, “There are a thousand things we all can clean up, me included. Trust me, I could do with way less epic and more, just, 60 (cohesive) minutes. But there’s a lot that can come from moments like that where we just find a way.””
“Had McCarthy and his teammates failed to do so, O’Connell knows who’d have borne the brunt of the accountability. That’s part of the deal, and it’s the way he likes it,” Silver wrote.
“It’s not always gonna go your way,” O’Connell said, shortly before heading off to a postgame shower he desperately craved. “There are gonna be some times where the banding together happens in the postgame, when you’ve got to face this (disappointment) head on — preferably with me out in front.”
McCarthy completed 13 passes, recorded two passing touchdowns, collected 143 passing yards, and earned one rushing touchdown in his debut.
“We don't win this game unless J.J. plays the way he did in the second half,” O'Connell told the Associated Press. “Most importantly, he kept the belief of this football team behind him, and now, we know it's possible. You hope to not be in these circumstances very often. But this team's made of the right stuff.”
The Vikings will host the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2.
