Entering the 2025 NFL season, Minnesota Vikings fans were excited to kick off the J.J. McCarthy era. After the team selected McCarthy with the No. 10 overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft and parted ways with Sam Darnold, all eyes are on the 22-year-old this season.
With the Vikings facing the Chicago Bears on Monday Night Football, McCarthy is playing on a national stage… and it hasn’t gone according to plan.
Is J.J. McCarthy Playing Tonight?
Yes, McCarthy is playing and he isn’t injured. He wasn’t on the injury report entering this Monday Night Football contest against the Bears. However, he has struggled mightily to kick off the first start of his NFL career.
So far, McCarthy is 5-of-9 for just 48 yards and an interception with a 31.0 QB rating, with three sacks. He added one rush for 11 yards, and he has had trouble snapping the ball in time.
The Vikings’ offense hasn’t been able to do much, with just 77 yards across 25 total plays (3.08 yards per play). Minnesota has yet to convert a third down (0-for-7). The Vikings’ last win when not recording a third down in the first half came in Week 15 of the 2022 NFL season (when they came back from 33-0 at the half to beat the Indianapolis Colts in overtime).
Even with weapons like Justin Jefferson, T.J. Hockenson, Adam Thielen, Aaron Jones Sr., and Jordan Mason, Minnesota’s offense looks completely different from last year.
What makes this poor start even more concerning is that the Bears are missing their best defender, CB Jaylon Johnson, plus another starting cornerback in Kyler Gordon. The fact that McCarthy hasn’t been able to take advantage of this fact and is still struggling against Chicago’s depleted secondary is certainly worrying.
However, it’s worth noting that the Bears have thrown some confusing looks at McCarthy, which NFL legend Peyton Manning noted on ESPN’s ManningCast.
“I played 18 years, I thought it was man, they confused me. I can promise you J.J. McCarthy thought it was man.”
The Bears defense is even tripping up Peyton 👀 pic.twitter.com/fiOF0dDHvs
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) September 9, 2025
One of the knocks on McCarthy entering the 2024 NFL Draft is that he didn’t throw the ball much in college, as Jim Harbaugh’s Michigan Wolverines leaned on the run on their way to the national championship. During McCarthy’s final collegiate season, he threw for 2,991 yards, 22 touchdowns, and four interceptions. For his college career, he totaled 6,226 yards, 49 touchdowns, and 11 interceptions.
McCarthy was drafted so high because of his potential, and it’s worth noting that he’s the youngest starting quarterback in the NFL at 22 years old. He’s younger than 2025 No. 1 pick Cam Ward (23 years old) of the Tennessee Titans, and McCarthy is significantly younger than New Orleans Saints second-round pick Tyler Shough (25 years old).
It’s obviously incredibly early in McCarthy’s NFL career, so he shouldn’t be written off. If there’s anyone who can help him realize his full potential, it’s Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, who has developed a reputation as a quarterback whisperer.
Still, this is a concerning start for the Vikings’ signal-caller, and it suggests that there will be growing pains throughout the 2025 campaign after Minnesota won 14 games last season with Darnold leading the offense.
