In his first-ever NFL start back in Week 1, J.J. McCarthy struggled through the first three quarters but found some fourth-quarter magic to lead the Minnesota Vikings to a comeback victory over the Chicago Bears.
And for a few minutes on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, it seemed as if that same scenario was set to play out.
With the Vikings trailing 16-10 late in the fourth quarter, McCarthy, after struggling with his accuracy for much of the afternoon, completed six of eight passes (including his final five in a row) for 76 yards during Minnesota's final offensive drive, with the last being a 15-yard touchdown to Jordan Addison that ultimately gave the Vikings a 17-16 lead with just 50 seconds remaining.
Unfortunately for Minnesota, of course, the Bears got a 56-yard return from Devin Duvernay on the ensuing kickoff, and just four plays later, Cairo Santos connected on a 48-yard field goal as time expired to give Chicago a 19-17 victory.
Prior to that final drive, McCarthy, who played with a wrap on his throwing hand after injuring it during the Vikings' Week 10 loss to the Baltimore Ravens, had completed just 10 of his first 24 passes for 74 yards, missing several throws that should've gone for easy completions, while also tossing a pair of interceptions, upping his season total to eight.
Justin Jefferson's reaction to Chicago Bears loss is exactly what the Minnesota Vikings needed to hear
In the aftermath, Justin Jefferson, who led all receivers with 61 yards on five catches, did his best to praise McCarthy, even stepping up to take some of the heat off his young quarterback.
And while the four-time Pro Bowler admitted to being a bit frustrated with the Vikings' offensive attack, he was surprisingly calm when talking with the media after the loss.
"Yeah, definitely frustration. We only scored one touchdown the whole entire game. Really only got there down there one time, and that was off of a special teams play.
So, the frustrations are there, you know, it happens. It's part of football, a part of growing, and a part of figuring things out. We just got to do better all around, just every phase.
Execution, executing the plays, and just coming out there with a sense of urgency and wanting to win and having to win. So that's the main focus, and we just got to go back to work, figure things out, and come back next week and be ready to work."
While it's certainly commendable that Jefferson is attempting to take some of the heat off his young quarterback and is doing his best to keep himself collected while the Vikings' season slips away, that sense of urgency he mentioned undoubtedly needs to be more than just a cookie-cutter sound bite.
With the loss, the Vikings dropped to 4-6 for the season and will need to go on a run to have any kind of a shot at the final wild-card slot in the NFC, which currently belongs to the San Francisco 49ers, who improved to 7-4 on Sunday with a 41-22 win over the Arizona Cardinals.
And going on such a run won't be easy, as Minnesota will spend the next two weeks on the road, first squaring off with the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field and then taking on Sam Darnold and the Seattle Seahawks at Lumen Field.
Those aren't exactly the easiest venues for road opponents. Jefferson knows what needs to be done, but he now has to hope that everyone around him is as well.