Seconds after J.J. McCarthy scored a 14-yard rushing touchdown to give the Minnesota Vikings a 10-point lead over the Chicago Bears in the fourth quarter of Monday's NFC North battle, a fired-up Justin Jefferson joined in with teammates to celebrate what the young quarterback just did.
Riding the moxie of McCarthy, the Vikings put together a 21-point fourth quarter on Monday to escape Chicago's Soldier Field with an incredible win and begin the 2025 season with a 1-0 record.
After the impressive victory, Jefferson was asked if he learned anything about Minnesota's new starting signal-caller, and the star wide receiver gave the best possible answer.
"No, I already knew what J.J. was about. It was just all about showing the world that. We knew him, coming from Michigan and being a national champion, we knew he had that dawg in him.
And really today, seeing his composure, seeing his grit, and seeing him lead the team, even when we were down, it goes a long way."
Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson not surprised by J.J. McCarthy's debut against the Chicago Bears
It's definitely pretty incredible that Jefferson said he wasn't surprised by what McCarthy did on Monday. It means that the young quarterback didn't just all of a sudden stumble into an epic performance.
Very few current NFL signal-callers are able to do what McCarthy did against the Bears in Week 1. We saw Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen do something very similar on Sunday, and he's coming off an MVP season in 2024.
We've been hearing all throughout the offseason and in training camp about the leadership qualities and intangibles that McCarthy has, and those were all on display during Monday's win over Chicago.
Minnesota and its fans would prefer if the young quarterback could play more of a balanced and complete game next week and moving forward, but if he keeps leading the team to wins, no one is really going to care how it happens.