The first three quarters weren’t pretty for Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy in his first NFL start on Monday night, but all that matters is what happens in the fourth quarter. 

McCarthy led the Vikings on a thrilling comeback, scoring 21 points in the fourth quarter to defeat the Chicago Bears, 27-24, on the road to begin the 2025 NFL season. 

Last season, McCarthy was on the sideline with a season-ending meniscus injury suffered during preseason. He watched as Sam Darnold led the Vikings to a 14-3 record, but McCarthy knew heading into this campaign it was his turn to get the job done at quarterback in head coach Kevin O’Connell’s dynamic offense. 

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McCarthy was having some trouble doing so to start this game, as the Bears’ defense, led by new coordinator Dennis Allen, was drawing up the right pressures to fluster the young signal caller. He was only able to get Will Reichard into field goal range twice in the first half, while Caleb Williams and the Bears’ offense got off to a hot start under new head coach Ben Johnson. 

But crunch time in the fourth quarter, with the Vikings down 17-6, McCarthy answered the call. 

It all started with a six-play drive, where McCarthy fired a bullet to the front of the end zone to find his star receiver, Justin Jefferson, for his first score of the new campaign. Then, the Vikings’ defense kept up the pressure on Williams to give McCarthy another chance at the lead with a three-and-out forced on the ensuing possession. 

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McCarthy, after getting a generous defensive pass interference call, launched a perfectly placed deep ball to running back Aaron Jones for the lead, 20-17, after a successful two-point conversion. 

The dagger in this come-from-behind win was a nine-play drive that ended with a 14-yard touchdown run by none other than McCarthy, who kept the ball on a third-and-1 read option from the Chicago 14-yard line. He barreled his way into the end zone, and let out a roar with his Vikings teammates all huddling around him as the score went to 27-17 with 2:53 left in the game. 

Williams got off to such a hot start, running in a touchdown on the Bears’ opening drive of the game. But the Bears’ offense, expected to be upgraded with Johnson’s play-calling in place given his success with the Detroit Lions, sputtered after that. They only mustered a field goal in the second quarter, while kicker Cairo Santos missed another in the fourth. 

The other touchdown scored for the Bears was a pick-six thrown by McCarthy in the third quarter which, at the time, seemed to be a total killer because of how poorly he was playing. 

But it was Williams needing to run hurry-up offense late to get back into the game, and he was finally able to find the end zone again. The Bears’ drought ended with Rome Odunze wide open for the one-yard score to get the deficit down to three for Chicago with two minutes left to play. 

The Bears’ defense was able to force a three-and-out on the Vikings, but there was not enough play clock left for a miracle as the Vikings celebrated their hard-fought victory on the road. 

McCarthy’s first career start ended with a line of 13-for-20 for 143 yards with two touchdowns and one interception. It was also notable to see Jordan Mason getting the lion’s share of touches in the run game, totaling 15 for 68 yards, with the veteran Aaron Jones Sr. getting eight carries for 23 yards. Jones, though, was tied with Jefferson for 44 yards in the receiving game. 

For the Bears, Williams was 21-of-35 for 211 yards with his touchdown pass and rushing score. He led the Bears with 58 rushing yards on just six carries, while D’Andre Swift had 53 yards on 17 touches in the backfield. D.J. Moore also had 70 yards on just three receptions.

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The murder of Ukrainian refugee Iryna Zarutska on the Charlotte Metro last month has sparked federal attention from FBI Director Kash Patel and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, who say the case is under federal investigation and will have implications far beyond North Carolina.

Patel says the FBI has been investigating the Charlotte train tragedy "from day one" and even hinted that new developments could be released soon. "Stay tuned," he added to a social media post on X, suggesting that the federal probe could reveal more than what has been disclosed thus far.

Duffy also took to social media to announce that the agency is launching an investigation of its own into how the Charlotte transit system failed to protect Iryna Zarutska. 

Duffy’s announcement is tied directly to a recent message from President Donald Trump’s "zero tolerance" message regarding crime.

TRUMP SAYS DEMOCRATS HAVE ‘BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS’ AFTER DEADLY CHARLOTTE TRAIN STABBING

"If mayors can’t keep their trains and buses safe, they don’t deserve the taxpayers’ money," Duffy said in a statement. "@USDOT will be investigating Charlotte over its failure to protect Iryna Zarutska. And we will also be looking at other crime-ridden cities across the country."

His message was accentuated by a statement from the White House, signed by POTUS himself, saying he viewed the crime footage and demanded accountability.

"I have seen the horrific video of a beautiful, young Ukrainian refugee, who came to America to escape the vicious War in Ukraine, and was innocently riding the Metro in Charlotte, North Carolina, where she was brutally ambushed by a mentally deranged lunatic. The perpetrator was a well known career criminal, who had been previously arrested and released on CASHLESS BAIL in January, a total of 14 TIMES. What the hell was he doing riding the train, and walking the streets? Criminals like this need to be LOCKED UP," a post on the White House X account said.

Duffy went further, suggesting that federal transportation funding is at risk for cities that don’t work to curb violence on public transit.

Both Duffy and Patel seemingly framed the incident in Charlotte as a national test of accountability. 

The Trump administration is weighing in on whether federal funds should be a leveraging tool used to force local governments to do their job and ensure the safety of the public.

IRYNA ZARUTSKA FLED UKRAINE FOR SAFETY BUT DEMOCRATS' SOFT-ON-CRIME POLICIES FAILED HER

"Our position is, if you don’t clean up your act, we’re not going to invest in you … If you don’t, we’re going to pull your money and we’ll put it somewhere else," Duffy said on Fox News’s ‘The Ingraham Angle.’

Duffy also emphasized the human cost, quoting a Charlotte resident who said, "I don’t feel safe on public transportation. But, I have to work." He added: "No American should be put in that position and the Trump administration will do everything in its power to change that."

Local police are leading the homicide investigation with federal assistance. Details have not been released by the FBI of its probe, and the Department of Transportation has not yet said whether Charlotte’s transit funding could be formally affected. The Trump allies have signaled the administration will keep the case in the national spotlight as part of its broader crime-and-safety agenda.