Can an NFC North rematch vs. the Bears help Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy build consistency?

As J.J. McCarthy has rewatched the Vikings’ Week 1 win against the Bears, he has watched with an eye for plays and scenarios he better knows how to handle now at the midpoint of the season.

“There’s so many situations that I’m so grateful being in that situation, and I just can’t wait for the next time it comes up to execute it better,” McCarthy said Wednesday.

The Vikings host the Bears at noon Sunday for what will be McCarthy’s first in-season rematch with an NFC North opponent.

McCarthy led the Vikings to an 11-point fourth-quarter comeback and 27-24 victory against the Bears in Week 1 in Chicago, throwing for 143 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in just 20 pass attempts.

His season since has not gone quite as the Vikings planned: An abbreviated Week 2 of practice led into an ugly loss to the Falcons in which McCarthy suffered a high-ankle sprain that benched him for five games. He returned two weeks ago, beating the Lions in Detroit (also 27-24) and keeping the Vikings undefeated in division play, but then lost to the Ravens last Sunday.

The Bears game will be McCarthy’s fifth NFL start, as he’s fallen further behind peers from the 2024 quarterback class — including Bears starter Caleb Williams — in one of the most important categories of development for young quarterbacks: game experience.

McCarthy was a limited participant in practice Wednesday, wearing a bandage on his right throwing hand after hitting it on a lineman’s helmet against the Ravens.

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said it’s not expected to affect McCarthy’s prep “very much at all,” an assessment the quarterback agreed with, though he said he’s “gonna be feeling it the rest of the way.” He is receiving treatment for the injury.

Meanwhile, Williams has built on what O’Connell said Wednesday was an impressive résumé of high-level throws in Week 1 as the Bears have won six of eight since. The No. 1 overall pick in 2024 has started every game since his arrival in Chicago, unhindered by injuries the way McCarthy has been since August 2024.

Williams has thrown for 2,136 yards this season with a 60.8% completion percentage, averaging 12 yards per completion and 237.3 yards per game.

“He can make the highest of level throw, whether it’s play-pass, on the move in the keeper game, different variations of attacking downfield, and then when he does break contain, he can make every throw at that point, too,” O’Connell said. “That’s something we’ve always known about him, but like anybody, as they accumulate more snaps and building off of what he did last year, you’re seeing some of that experience kind of show up in a consistency now that’s helping them win.”

Building consistency is a phase in the young quarterback journey the Vikings are just starting to get to with McCarthy, in practice and in games.

He’s played with three different centers and other backups along the offensive line. He missed his favorite training camp target, wide receiver Jordan Addison, in his first two starts. He lost running back Aaron Jones midgame against the Lions.

O’Connell said the most important thing is establishing plays that McCarthy can be expected to execute every time, like second nature.

“Sometimes when a guy’s making his third or fourth or fifth start now this week, it’s a lot to ask in the midst of games, especially how they’ve kind of played out, but that doesn’t change the fact that we’re in the business of trying to go 1-0 this week,” said O’Connell amid a longer answer about patience when starting a new, young quarterback. “There’s been a lot of encouraging things to go along with things we can improve on. He knows that. We know that.”

This week is one when the Vikings could start to really make that consistency happen with McCarthy.

Jones, a veteran with plenty of NFC North experience, said matchups with division rivals always come with a sense of familiarity that can be advantageous, though that advantage exists for the opponent, too.

It’s a pivotal point in the season, and a pivotal point for McCarthy, who’s well aware of the importance of consistency.

“That’s the name of the game in this league — and any real profession — is just how can you be consistently great over and over again,” McCarthy said.