Takeaways from the Vikings’ 27-24 win over the Bears

CHICAGO The conversation about young quarterback J J McCarthy could ve gone much differently had he not ascertained his rhythm on Monday night at Soldier Field There were growing pains for McCarthy in his NFL debut and as a aftermath the Vikings detected themselves chasing the encounter As soon as McCarthy determined his stride however he helped lead a comeback that ended with the Vikings walking away with - win over the Chicago Bears It was an impressive turnaround from McCarthy considering how much he struggled for the Vikings in the the early stages On the other side quarterback Caleb Williams crumbled down the stretch for the Bears proving that he still has a long way to go Here are specific takeaways the Vikings - win over the Bears J J McCarthy proved he s the guy There were a number of times that McCarthy could ve folded under pressure Like when he was struggling to string together drives before halftime Or when he at once threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown after halftime That s solely not how McCarthy is wired There s a reason he s won at every level He never loses confidence in himself which in turn makes it easy for his teammates to maintain their confidence in him A perfect example of that came in primetime Never mind that McCarthy hadn t moved the ball much to that point He led the offense on a trio of scoring drives in the final frame throwing for a pair of touchdowns and rushing for a touchdown as well which helped propel the Vikings to a win over the Bears The mental fortitude that McCarthy displayed along the way is why so multiple people walked away feeling like he was the right guy to lead the Vikings into the future Jordan Mason looked the part If the Vikings didn t have running back Jordan Mason on their roster they might have lost the championship to the Bears That speaks to Mason s effectiveness while logging carries for yards Who cares that he didn t find the end zone That s going to come at selected point There was a pivotal stretch during which Mason helped take the edge off with a couple of runs that went for big gains That opened everything up downfield and McCarthy was able to hit star receiver Justin Jefferson for a touchdown that gave the Vikings a few life It s a credit to general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah that Mason is a part of the equation He swung a deal with the San Francisco ers to acquire Mason for what basically amounted to a late draft pick It s looking more like a heist in hindsight given how impactful Mason looks in the backfield Javon Hargrave couldn t be contained There were so a great number of contributors for the Vikings on the defensive line that it doesn t feel right to single out a athlete That commented veteran defensive tackle Javon Hargrave was so dominant in the trenches that well he must be mentioned on his own It d be an understatement to say Hargrave lived up to the hype in his first tournament with the Vikings He finished with a pair of sacks while consistently making life miserable for the offensive line on the other end Though none of his peers were credited with sacks they made their presence felt whether it was veteran defensive tackle Jonathan Allen young defensive tackle Jalen Redmond or any of the other players in the rotation It s pretty clear that unit up front is going to be massive for the Vikings moving forward Eric Wilson stepped up big time The train could ve gone off the tracks after starting linebacker Blake Cashman left the battle with hamstring injury The fact that it didn t is a testament to veteran linebacker Eric Wilson and his preparation Not only did Wilson take over as the person wearing the helmet that gets the play call from defensive coordinator Brian Flores he didn t miss a beat while making sure everybody was on the same page That why the Vikings went out an signed Wilson as a free agent On top of making a difference on defense Wilson continued to be an ace on special teams partially blocking a punt late to give the Vikings the ball back in a good spot He was everything everywhere all at once Myles Pride was a pleasant surprise It might not be hyperbole to say receiver Myles Price is already the best punter returner the Vikings have had since cornerback Marcus Sherels proudly held down the role for nearly a decade That s how good Price was in his NFL debut After coming to the Vikings as an undrafted free agent Price slowly started to separate himself from his peers in the competition to be the starting punt returner He won the job out of training camp and proved to be the right choice Not only did Price look confident catching the ball out of the air he finished with punt returns for yards That average from Price was more than yards more than than receiver Brandon Powell averaged previously as the punt return Related Articles Born in the th J J McCarthy leads Vikings to comeback win over Bears J J McCarthy s family and friends flood tailgate lot ahead of NFL debut Justin Jefferson was smart 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