A lot of dirt was being thrown on J.J. McCarthy before Monday night, and after the first half of his NFL debut.
For now, that’s subsided.
The Vikings quarterback silenced his critics with a comeback performance for the ages, rallying Minnesota from an 11-point fourth quarter deficit to beat Chicago 27-24 in his NFL debut. And Scott Van Pelt had a message for everyone ready to write off the Michigan product after 30 minutes of primetime football.
“If you were on social media and you were talking junk about the quarterback of the Vikings, you’re gonna need to go back and delete some tweets,” Van Pelt said during SportsCenter with SVP.
If you were on social media and you were talking junk about the quarterback of the Vikings, you’re gonna need to go back and delete some tweets.
Scott Van Pelt on J.J. McCarthy after the Vikings’ come-from-behind win over the Bears. pic.twitter.com/4TZUGkCh3Z
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 9, 2025
Van Pelt wasn’t wrong. McCarthy looked terrible for most of the night, managing just 48 passing yards in the first half and throwing a pick-six early in the third quarter. But as it turns out, writing off a rookie quarterback after a few drives probably isn’t the greatest of ideas.
This isn’t the Big 10, McCarthy. Where you can throw 10x after you run 40x for 300yds and guys are wide open. You’ve got 2 throw guys open and be on time. You’re L8 it’s a reservation for 6. #BearsVikes #MondayNightFootball
— shannon sharpe (@ShannonSharpe) September 9, 2025
And that’s what JJ McCarthy looks like when he doesn’t know what the defense is running in advance.
Never a more obvious bust in the history of the NFL
— Bax (@MattBaxendell) September 9, 2025
Not sure JJ McCarthy is the Answer in Minnesota. This is the danger of letting the guy who you had success with walk for a guy you “think” can do the job at a high level.
— Richard Sherman (@RSherman_25) September 9, 2025
Turns out football is harder when you don’t know the other teams plays pic.twitter.com/Ug9EiAHv6P
— Ohio’s Tate (@BarstoolTate) September 9, 2025
McCarthy then reminded everyone why Minnesota drafted him 10th overall.
He accounted for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, becoming the first quarterback in NFL history to do that in his debut. The comeback included a 13-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jefferson, a 27-yard strike to Aaron Jones, and a 14-yard rushing touchdown with just under three minutes left that sealed the win.
The performance joined Steve Young as the only quarterbacks in the past 45 years to overcome a double-digit deficit in the fourth quarter of their debut and win. That’s pretty good company for a 22-year-old making his first start after sitting out his entire rookie season with a knee injury.
Van Pelt recently called out media overreactions after colleagues went overboard praising Shedeur Sanders following one preseason game. When social media went to the opposite extreme with McCarthy, there he was again reminding everyone to pump the brakes.
This situation was different, though. McCarthy wasn’t beating up on third-stringers in August. He was delivering against a division rival on Monday Night Football when his team needed him most.
Van Pelt was right to call out the social media critics. McCarthy’s first half was genuinely awful, but declaring a 22-year-old quarterback a bust after 30 minutes of football is exactly the kind of reactionary nonsense that makes following games on X insufferable.
The kid won a national championship at Michigan. Monday night proved he can handle the NFL stage, too.