J.J. McCarthy wants to be completely present as he walks out of the Soldier Field tunnel on Monday night. He knows it’s a primetime game against a Chicago Bears team with wunderkind head coach Ben Johnson and Caleb Williams, the first-overall pick in McCarthy’s draft class. He knows how important it is for the Minnesota Vikings to start the season 1-0.
McCarthy knows that he’ll feel many emotions. He’s ready for it all.
“There’s going to be anxiousness, excitement, and a whole lot of adrenaline,” he said. “But at the end of the day, that’s completely normal. [By] accepting those emotions, you’re going to be able to let go of them a lot quicker than trying to deflect them and avoid them.”
There is no sense in downplaying the importance of this game. A 0-1 start will tarnish the blank slate a new season offers. Much of the focus will be on McCarthy because he stands at the epicenter of Minnesota’s branching paths at the quarterback position.
The Vikings could have tanked for Williams after starting 0-3 in 2023. Kirk Cousins’ Week 8 Achilles injury in Green Bay presented them with another opportunity to bottom out and take Drake Maye. They let Sam Darnold walk in free agency after he threw for 4,319 yards and 35 touchdowns last year. Aaron Rodgers practically begged Minnesota to sign him.
Still, the Vikings stuck with the quarterback they want to deliver into the league with clean hands. The boy wonder who was 26-2 at Nazareth Academy in La Grange Park, Ill., 18 miles from where he’ll emerge from the Soldier Field tunnel on Monday.
McCarthy transferred to IMG Academy in Florida for his senior season and went 8-0 at one of America’s premier sports training destinations. There, he discovered meditation, which allows him to stay centered in chaotic situations.
He returned to the Midwest for college and went 27-1 at the University of Michigan. In 2023, the year before Minnesota drafted McCarthy, he delivered the Wolverines their first national championship since 1997. McCarthy believes that playing at the Big House in Ann Arbor for one of college football’s premier programs helped prepare him emotionally for Monday night’s game in Chicago.
“Having those reps of emotions that you feel,” he said, “how you handle them, how you manage them,” will prepare him for his first NFL start.
Kevin O’Connell wants McCarthy to simplify everything. Focus on getting the play call correct and setting the proper protections at the line of scrimmage. Drop back to the correct yardage and align his feet to his target as he progresses through his reads. Throw deep if Justin Jefferson is open; dump it off to T.J. Hockenson, Adam Thielen, or Aaron Jones if he’s covered.
“[McCarthy has] a lot of really good experience at the collegiate level in front of 100,000-plus people,” said O’Connell. “But it’s still Monday Night Football.”
O’Connell isn’t downplaying the magnitude of this game. Still, he feels he can simplify things for McCarthy and keep him focused. He’ll be in McCarthy’s headset all game, offering instructions.
“Just locking in on the nuances and subtleties of the game plan,” O’Connell explained. “Hopefully, by Monday night, we can make them as routine as possible.”
McCarthy first set foot in Soldier Field at the age of four in 2007. He was wearing a Brian Urlacher jersey and an oversized Bears hat, watching a game Vikings fans will never forget.
It was a mid-October game. He likely doesn’t remember it, but rookie Adrian Peterson set a team rushing record with 224 yards and three touchdowns. Ryan Longwell hit a game-winning 55-yard field goal as time expired.
McCarthy doesn’t have to perform like Peterson did in Chicago to start his career on the right path. Still, he only gets one opportunity to make a first impression, and much of Minnesota’s future rides on his right arm. He can make everyone forget about Williams, Darnold, and Rodgers if he leads the Vikings to victory in his first game.
On Monday, McCarthy will enter the Soldier Field tunnel fully present. If he plays well, he can leave everyone feeling like he’s arrived.