Read the recap: How the Vikings rallied to win their season opener vs. the Bears

CHICAGO — The Vikings kicked off their 2025 season tonight with a 27-24 victory over the Bears at Soldier Field in Chicago. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy made his NFL debut in the stadium where he saw his first game at age 4, leading the offense to three fourth-quarter touchdowns for a comeback win.

Kevin O’Connell: “J.J. McCarthy, for him to make some of the plays he did. ... I told him at halftime: ‘You are going to bring us back to win this game.’ And the look in his eye was fantastic. The best thing is just the belief I felt from the team ... that doesn’t get done without him.”

— Andrew Krammer

With the Vikings down 17-6 in the third quarter, McCarthy said to teammates in the huddle, “Where would you rather be?”

McCarthy said he’d never said that to teammates before.

“It juiced us up,” Justin Jefferson said. “He never gave up. That was the big thing about it.”

— Ben Goessling

The Vikings had three fourth-quarter touchdowns, the last one being a 14-yard TD run from J.J. McCarthy

Following his pick-6 in the third quarter, McCarthy was 8-of-11 for 95 yards and two touchdowns, while running for a third.

Next up: Home opener Sunday night against the Atlanta Falcons.

— Ben Goessling

The game’s not over yet. Caleb Williams marched the Bears 65 total yards downfield on just five plays, capping the drive by finding Rome Odunze wide pen in the end zone for a 1-yard score. We’re two seconds away from the two-minute warning, and it will be interesting to see how this kickoff plays out.

There have been 610 days between J.J. McCarthy’s pro debut tonight and the last time he played a full game — the 2024 NCAA National Championship game. It took him about three quarters to shake off the rust of that time outside the lines. He’s now led three consecutive scoring drives, adding a 14-yard touchdown just now himself on his feet.

— Emily Leiker

The Vikings just wanted to keep everyone on their toes! They’ve just taken their first lead of the night on a 27-yard touchdown pass from J.J. McCarthy to running back Aaron Jones, a connection and route we’d seen a handful of times in training camp. McCarthy also targeted Jones deep earlier in the game on a throw that ended up drawing a pass interference penalty. McCarthy connected with Adam Thielen for the first time all night for the two-point conversion, and the Vikings are up 20-17.

— Emily Leiker

It’s the defense’s turn to step up. The first sack of the Vikings season belongs to defensive tackle Javon Hargrave, who finally got Caleb Williams to the ground. Hargrave beat Bears center Drew Dalman.

— Andrew Krammer

Well, the Vikings closed the gap again. We’ll see if they can turn it into momentum. They pieced together a couple good plays — 18-yard rush by Jordan Mason, 17-yard pass to Justin Jefferson — and then J.J. McCarthy found Jefferson for a 13-yard touchdown, the first of McCarthy’s NFL career. The Vikings had two shots at a two-point conversion after a penalty on the first and didn’t complete either, though. Josh Oliver was stopped short of the goal line on the second attempt.

— Emily Leiker

Even after that touchdown, the Vikings are still below the following lows in the Kevin O’Connell era:

— Andrew Krammer

— Ben Goessling

We’re through three quarters at Soldier Field, where the Vikings haven’t lost since 2019. But in a building that’s been a house of horrors for the Vikings for so long, it’s been a nightmarish evening.

They’re still down 17-6 as they head into the fourth quarter, and they’ll have some injuries to worry about, as well. Blake Cashman pulled up after trying to chase Caleb Williams on a third-down scramble, and went into the medical tent after waiting for Ryan Kelly to emerge from it. It appeared on the play like Cashman’s right hamstring grabbed on him, though we haven’t heard an official injury update yet. After coming out of the tent, Cashman went to stand on the sideline with his hands on his hips and no helmet.

Kelly is heading back into the game to start the fourth quarter, where the Vikings will get the ball back after Cairo Santos missed a 50-yard field goal on the first play of the quarter.

— Ben Goessling

McCarthy is 7-of-12 for 56 yards.

— Andrew Krammer

Rookie returner Myles Price has been a bright spot for the Vikings tonight. He fielded the Bears’ most recent punt at the 6, and turned it into a 17-yard return.

The undrafted rookie is the No. 1 punt returner and kick returner. He has two kick returns for 49 yards and three punt returns for 46 yards.

— Ben Goessling

— Andrew Krammer

Nahshon Wright picked off a J.J. McCarthy pass targeting Justin Jefferson, undercutting the throw. He had pretty much a clear path 74 yards to the end zone down the Vikings’ sideline.

— Emily Leiker

Before the season began we asked Minnesota Star Tribune staff writers and columnists who cover the Vikings for their predictions for the team’s 2025 record. The predictions ranged from 10-7 to 12-5. Then we asked our readers what they thought would happen. Here are the results from nearly 1,300 votes.

- Naila-Jean Meyers

— Andrew Krammer

The Vikings eked out some points of their own before halftime with a career-long 59-yard field goal by Will Reichard. It was low, it was close, but he made it. The kick was set up by a 28-yard connection between J.J. McCarthy and Jalen Nailor, who returned to practice last week after missing the end of training camp with a fractured hand. The completion more than doubled McCarthy’s passing yards. He headed to the locker room 5-of-8 for 48 yards.

— Emily Leiker

The Bears add their first points since Caleb Williams’ opening-drive touchdown with a 42-yard field goal by Cairo Santos just before halftime.

— Emily Leiker

— Andrew Krammer

The Vikings drive started with promise: an 11-yard rush by Jordan Mason to move the chains on the first snap. But that play was brought back by a holding penalty against Justin Skule, filling in for Christian Darrisaw at left tackle, and the drive deteriorated from there. J.J. McCarthy went incomplete twice and then the Vikings took a delay of game penalty. Mason picked up only six on a third-and-25, and the Vikings were forced to punt from deep in their own territory.

— Emily Leiker

This looks like J.J. McCarthy is making his first NFL start on the road ... after five drives: he’s completed four passes, taken two sacks, had two passes batted down and thrown for zero first downs.

— Andrew Krammer

McCarthy is just 3-of-4 for 13 yards so far.

— Emily Leiker

The Bears opted to stay on the field for a fourth-and-3 at the Vikings 24, even after a timeout where it seemed they might reconsider and take the three points. Perhaps Ben Johnson’s ode to his former boss, Lions head coach Dan Campbell? Caleb Williams tried for D.J. Moore over the middle with Josh Metellus in coverage. Looked like Metellus might have gotten a fingertip on it. Either way, the ball went incomplete (Williams’ first incompletion of the game, and the Bears turned the ball over on downs.

— Emily Leiker

The Vikings defense has yet to register an official hit on Williams behind the line of scrimmage through 14 dropbacks full of quick throws, max protections and scrambles.

Jordan Mason gave the Vikings offense a kickstart with his first two carries of the game, a pair of 6-yard pickups that moved the sticks for the Vikings the first time this game. A defensive pass interference penalty from Bears cornerback Nahshon Wright, filling in for injured starter Jaylon Johnson, gave the Vikings a 42-yard boost. That led into a 11-yard scramble from J.J. McCarthy into the red zone. The Vikings didn’t end up reaching the end zone, but Will Reichard cleared a 31-yarder to give them some points. The Bears still lead 7-3.

— Emily Leiker

Small sample size, but J.J. McCarthy needs to get the ball out of his hand. And the running game has to get going. The Bears have preached physical football throughout the preseason and the Vikings need to match that.

— La Velle E. Neal III

The Vikings offense is just not getting things moving here through its first two drives. J.J. McCarthy was under pressure again on third down, stepped forward into space but lost his footing and somersaulted over himself. Another three-and-out. Offensive line has some tightening up it needs to do.

Caleb Williams led the Bears on a bit longer opening drive than his 2024 draft class mate. He completed six of six attempts for 51 yards. The Vikings defense stalled them just around the Minnesota 30-yard line, bringing up the Bears’ first third down. Out of a timeout and under pressure from Andrew Van Ginkel and Blake Cashman, Williams found a diving Rome Odunze for 17 yards and the conversion. The next third down in the red zone, Williams rolled out left and in to the end zone for a 9-yard touchdown run. Bears lead, 7-0.

— Emily Leiker

That’s a three-and-out for J.J. McCarthy’s first regular-season drive. He tossed to Aaron Jones on first down for a 3-yard rush and connected with Josh Oliver on second down for 5 yards, but was sacked by Gervon Dexter on third down trying to scramble up the middle for the conversion.

— Emily Leiker

A few notable rule changes you may notice tonight:

We asked readers to vote on who will win tonight’s game, and most of the nearly 800 voters picked the Vikings. You can still cast your votes for the rest of the games this season at that link in this post.

— Naila-Jean Meyers

You’ve heard this is J.J. McCarthy’s NFL debut.

The Vikings are actually trotting out a remade roster tonight in which over 20% — 10 of 49 — of the available players are suiting up for their first NFL game.

They include McCarthy, guard Donovan Jackson, quarterback Max Brosmer (emergency No. 3), defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, receivers Tai Felton and Myles Price, linebackers Kobe King and Austin Keys, tight end Ben Yurosek and outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss.

Many players and coaches at Soldier Field wore T-shirts honoring Annunciation Catholic School, after two children were killed and 21 people were wounded in a mass shooting at Annunciation Catholic Church on Aug. 27. The shirts were a joint idea from Vikings leadership and their social impact team. The slogan on the back of the shirts is Annunciation’s “School Essential Agreement,” which says, “Be kind, be respectful, be inclusive, be my best self, be brave.” The Bears were extended an invitation to wear the shirts and agreed. The Vikings will also wear them before their home opener at U.S. Bank Stadium against the Falcons next Sunday night.

— Emily Leiker

With about an hour to kickoff, Soldier Field is still in the early process of filling up, but there is a good smattering of purple in the stands and down on the field. We’ll see what it looks like closer to game time.

— Emily Leiker

I knew J.J. McCarthy grew up in suburban Chicago but knew nothing about his family’s fandom of the Bears until a tipster told me the story about J.J.’s dad taking him to his first NFL game in 2007 and that the Vikings were the opponent that day.

I contacted the Vikings to ask McCarthy if it would be OK for me to talk to his dad Jim to learn more about that story and hear his emotions leading up to his son’s NFL debut in his hometown. McCarthy gave the green light, and his dad, as one can imagine, was incredibly proud and excited for this moment.

Jim texted me a photo of 4-year-old J.J. wearing his Brian Urlacher jersey to the game. He had a foam Bears claw on his hand.

Eighteen years later, J.J. will make his NFL debut against the Bears tonight.

His dad said it best last week: “Surreal.”

— Chip Scoggins

— Ben Goessling

Quarterback J.J. McCarthy will not have his top blindside blocker for his first NFL start.

Left tackle Christian Darrisaw is officially inactive. Offensive tackle Justin Skule is expected to start against the Bears.

Darrisaw, who is about 10½ months removed from two torn ligaments in his left knee, was listed questionable entering the game. He went through a roughly 30-minute workout at Soldier Field under the watch of offensive line coach Chris Kuper and a member of the team’s training staff. He wore a bulky brace on his left knee while practicing a range of pass-blocking sets.

After a full practice last week, Darrisaw said he would need both the medical staff’s clearance and full confidence in his leg to return to the field. They’re choosing to wait until at least next Sunday, when the Vikings host the Falcons at U.S. Bank Stadium. It’s worth noting that the often-questionable grass at Soldier Field was recently replaced.

The Bears defense is down three key contributors in cornerbacks Jaylon Johnson and Kyler Gordon, as well as top linebacker T.J. Edwards. Johnson went through a pregame warmup but is officially inactive.

Vikings’ inactives: Darrisaw (knee), Smith (illness), DL Elijah Williams (hamstring), RB Zavier Scott (ankle), G Joe Huber

Bears’ inactives: CB Jaylon Johnson (calf/groin), CB Kyler Gordon (hamstring), QB Case Keenum, RB Roschon Johnson, LB T.J. Edwards (hamstring), OT Kiran Amegadjie and DT Shemar Turner

-Andrew Krammer