J.J McCarthy generated three fourth-quarter touchdowns on two passes and a run to lead the Vikings to a 27-24 win over the Bears in Monday night's season opener at Soldier Field.
The Bears led 10-6 at halftime and extended their lead to 17-6 on cornerback Nahshon Wright's 74-yard interception return TD with 12:51 remaining in the third quarter before Minnesota rallied.
Making his NFL head-coaching debut, Ben Johnson called it "a disappointing way to start the season there for us."
"We said going into Week 1 that the team that would make the least number of mistakes would win the game and unfortunately, we were on the wrong side of the that," Johnson said. "We made too many there late in the game, myself included. There were a number of things that I could have done better, a number of things that a number of guys could have done better."
The Bears cut the deficit to 27-24 on Caleb Williams' 1-yard TD pass to receiver Rome Odunze with 2:02 left in the game. After forcing a Vikings three-and-out, they took over at their own 20 with just :09 to play but were unable to rally.
Williams completed his first 10 pass attempts and finished 21 of 35 for 210 yards and an 86.6 passer rating. He also led the Bears in rushing with 58 yards on six carries.
"I thought Caleb played well to start the game for the most part, finding completions and getting us moving," Johnson said.
After their defense opened the game by forcing a three-and-out, the Bears took a 7-0 lead on Williams' 9-yard touchdown scramble around left end on third-and-6. It was the first rushing TD of his NFL career.
Williams completed 6 of 6 passes for 51 yards on the drive, highlighted by a sparkling 17-yard frozen rope to Odunze on third-and-2. Williams escaped the pocket, sprinted to his right and rifled the ball to Odunze, who made a sliding catch just inside the right sideline.
The Vikings closed the gap to 7-3 on Will Reichard's 31-yard field goal early in the second quarter. The kick came after Wright drew a 42-yard pass interference penalty.
The Bears increased their lead to 10-3 on Cairo Santos' 42-yard field goal with :24 left in the second quarter. Olamide Zaccheaus caught passes of 16 and seven yards on the drive, the second coming on third-and-5.
The Vikings cut the deficit to 10-6 on Reichard's 59-yard field goal with :06 remaining in the half. The kick was set up by McCarthy's 28-yard pass to receiver Jalen Nailor.
In the first half, the Bears defense forced four three-and-outs while holding the Vikings to 80 total yards and four first downs and 0 of 5 on third down.
Wright made amends for his pass interference penalty by intercepting a McCarthy pass and returning it for a TD.
On third-and-8 from the Chicago 32, the Bears sent seven pass rushers after McCarthy, who threw quickly to Jefferson in the left flat. Wright jumped the route, picked off the pass and raced down the right sideline for his first NFL touchdown.
"The defense did a really good job until the very end," Johnson said. "That fourth quarter, things got away from us a little bit. But up until then they kept us in that ballgame."
The defense played without linebacker T.J. Edwards (hamstring), cornerback Jaylon Johnson (calf, groin) and nickel back Kyler Gordon (hamstring).
The Bears had a chance to pad their lead, but Santos missed a 50-yard field goal attempt wide right on the first play of the fourth quarter.
The Vikings followed by cutting the deficit to 17-12 on McCarthy's 13-yard TD pass to Jefferson. Minnesota was 0-of-8 on third down before scoring its first TD of the game on third-and-5.
On the subsequent two-point conversion attempt, tight end Josh Oliver caught a pass from McCarthy in the left flat, but safety Jonathan Owens made an excellent open field tackle short of the goal line.
The Vikings took their first lead at 20-17 with 9:46 to play on McCarthy's 27-yard TD pass to running back Aaron Jones and a two-point conversion pass to receiver Adam Thielen.
McCarthy's 14-yard TD run made it 27-17 with 2:53 to play before Williams' TD pass to Odunze completed the scoring.
"The guys did play hard," Johnson said. "They played with great intensity, great effort, and I hate to see that they didn't come with a 'W' there at the end."
