J.J. McCarthy's NFL Debut A Rollercoaster That Even Included A Sex Toy On The Field

We have no idea if J.J. McCarthy is going to be a good NFL quarterback in 2025. But there is an unequivocal statement we can make and that's that the Minnesota Vikings rookie has the ability to be very good. And very bad.

Because that's what we saw from him Monday night.

We saw Dr. Jekyll and Mr. J.J.

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - SEPTEMBER 08: J.J. McCarthy #9 of the Minnesota Vikings looks to pass during the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on September 08, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Patrick McDermott/Getty Images)

McCarthy: Pick Six But Also 3 TDs

We saw a 22-year-old making his first NFL start and looking every bit as overmatched as East Carolina was in 2023 when they faced the Michigan team McCarthy helped win a national title. For three quarters, we saw a young quarterback whose best pass was a completion to Nahshon Wright.

Nahshon Wright is a Chicago Bears backup cornerback, who returned the interception 74 yards for a touchdown.

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But then the fourth quarter came and McCarthy stepped into a proverbial phone booth as Clark Kent and came out as Superman.

He had completed only seven passes all game, and then he threw a 13-yard touchdown to Justin Jefferson. Then he threw a 27-yard touchdown to Aaron Jones. And then he ran for a 14-yard touchdown.

Tough Earned Wisdom For McCarthy

McCarthy went from a zero to being the only individual to ever walk the planet to account for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter of his NFL debut.

"You know, you never want to earn wisdom that way," McCarthy said of his interception and struggles. "…At the end of the day, it sucks, it's one of the worst things you can do as a quarterback. But you can't do anything about it.

"Really grateful the way coach [Josh] McCown and coach [Kevin] O'Connell handled it. It was everybody on the same page. Alright, that happened. Next play."

The next set of plays into the fourth quarter was electric. McCarthy completed 6-of-8 passes in the fourth quarter and two of those completions were touchdowns.

Talk about taking a schizophrenic journey. Talk about a wild game

And that's to say nothing of the dimwit in the stands who threw a sex toy onto the Soldier Field end zone.

McCarthy Era Direction Still Unknown

The Vikings started the McCarthy era dealing with a lot of unknowns about their quarterback. And while some unknowns have been answered, other questions linger: 

How quickly is McCarthy going to improve?

Is he going to be an inconsistent player?

"There's a thousand things that myself and the staff will look to clean up," O'Connell said. "Tonight felt like there was something – new quarterback, on the road, new players on our team, really trying to figure it out together and the way we were able to do that, I'm very proud of our team."  

So where does this leave us? That question whether the Vikings did the right thing in the offseason seems to have a good answer now because the club decided to go with McCarthy, and he's 1-0 as a starter now. 

Vikings Know ‘Ah-ha’ Moment Awaits

But this will be a season-long issue. Because the Vikings had a chance to sign Aaron Rodgers in the offseason. They admitted as much and Rodgers confirmed this, too.

And despite these conversations, the Vikings continued to stick with McCarthy over the four-time MVP. Well, fast-forward six months and Rodgers opened his season for the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday by throwing four touchdown passes.

So the Vikings understand the comparison between their two choices will be an ongoing exercise.

"Everybody's going to be waiting for the Ah-ha moment of look what happened," O'Connell said. "That can weigh on a player but not him ... 

"There is a big-picture plan. You hope to not have this chapter be the first chapter where you have to bring your team back so significantly after a really tough start, but there's no way to deny we don't win this game unless J.J. plays the way he did in the second half.

"And now we know it's possible."