Last night’s first Monday Night Football matchup of the season showcased yet another epic comeback, similar to what we saw on Sunday Night earlier this week. After looking like an inexperienced rookie for the first three quarters, J.J. McCarthy and the Minnesota Vikings found their footing when they needed it most. Coming back from down 17-6 with 12:30 left in the game, they eventually stunned the Chicago Bears 27-24.
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It really can’t be overstated how much McCarthy and the Vikings struggled through the first three quarters. They had punted six times and thrown a pick-six early in the third quarter that felt like the nail in the coffin. Offensively, they couldn’t do anything. But outside of a nice 11-play touchdown drive to start the game, the Bears’ offense was stagnant as well.
This allowed McCarthy and the Vikings to stay within striking distance. After a missed field goal by Chicago in the early fourth quarter, they knew they had to make them pay. Around that time, Minnesota’s star running back Aaron Jones says, McCarthy gave the team a glimpse into his personality with an electrifying speech.
“There was a moment that stuck out to me, I think it was either the late third, early fourth, we were still down. And J.J. runs in the huddle after a TV timeout, he looks at us and is like, ‘Is there any place else you guys would rather be?’ That’s what he said,” Jones revealed on Speakeasy.
The quote had the hosts of the show, Emmanuel Acho and LeSean McCoy, giddy with laughter. They looked fired up and gave the rookie props for not being afraid to speak up and lead. McCoy even said he got goosebumps.
Jones was equally impressed with McCarthy’s words.
“We was down, we hadn’t really caught our momentum yet. And I’m like, ‘Wow.’ I’ve been telling people he’s different up here,” Jones said as he pointed to his brain. “But that, to me, that showed gratitude and presence.”
The former Pro Bowler went on to emphasize that he believes McCarthy is years ahead of his age mentally. He proved it by not backing down under the pressure of trailing late in a primetime game, a pressure that would make many rookies wilt.
Vikings running back, Aaron Jones, jumped straight into the SPEAKEASY from the locker room for the exclusive interview!
“There was a moment when we were still down, J.J. McCarthy runs in the huddle and looks at us and says, ‘is there anywhere else you’d rather be.’” -Aaron Jones pic.twitter.com/O70nCKZvSF
— Speakeasy (@speakeasytlkshw) September 9, 2025
At the end of the day, though, Jones has always been a believer in McCarthy’s talents. Before the season, he was adamant that his new quarterback had an excellent mentality. Jones even said that the Michigan product was ready despite missing his entire rookie season with a torn meniscus and that he was excited to play with him.
Well, so far so good. McCarthy got to show off that tough mentality early on, and he even connected with Jones on a touchdown for the go-ahead score. Now, Minnesota goes home in Week 2 to face the Atlanta Falcons, again in a primetime matchup. This time, it’ll be Sunday Night Football. It’ll be interesting to see if J.J. and the Viks can keep it going.
