McCarthy's Debut: Vikings' Historic Comeback Against Bears

The comeback victory, spearheaded by J.J. McCarthy in his NFL debut, holds significant historical importance for the Minnesota Vikings franchise, establishing several team and individual records, and continuing a notable streak against the Bears.

Team Historical Significance:

• First Six-Game Win Streak in Chicago: The season-opening win marked the Vikings' first six-game winning streak in Chicago in franchise history.

• Season Opener Record: The Vikings are now 37-27-1 in season openers.

• Comeback Victory Milestones:

    ◦ This contest was the 40th come-from-behind victory for the Vikings when trailing by 11 or more points at any point in a game.

    ◦ Of these 40 wins, 13 have occurred when Minnesota was behind by at least 11 points in the fourth quarter.

    ◦ Only three of these fourth-quarter, 11+ point comebacks happened on the road.

    ◦ Two of those three road comeback wins were against the Bears, with the first occurring in Week 14 of the 1965 season when the Vikings rallied from a 14-3 fourth-quarter deficit to win 24-17. The other was McCarthy's debut.

    ◦ Seven of the 40 comeback wins have been against the Bears (four at home, three on the road), including the 1965 game, McCarthy's debut, and a Week 4, 1998 game where Randall Cunningham led a comeback after trailing by 11 at halftime.

J.J. McCarthy's Individual Historical Significance (also impacting the franchise):

• Rare Fourth-Quarter Comeback in Debut: McCarthy is the first starting quarterback since Steve Young in 1985 to overcome a 10+ point deficit in the fourth quarter and win in his NFL debut. Furthermore, he is the only quarterback to achieve this feat on the road since 1950.

• Multiple Touchdowns in Debut: He became the first player since Cam Newton in 2011 to record multiple passing touchdowns and a rushing score in his NFL debut.

• Most Fourth-Quarter Touchdowns in Debut: McCarthy is the first player in league history to score three fourth-quarter touchdowns in his debut.

• Franchise Debut Passing Touchdown Record: He is the first player with multiple passing touchdowns in a Vikings debut since Fran Tarkenton in the team's inaugural season in 1961, who also set this benchmark against Chicago.