Like his days as the Nazareth Academy quarterback, J.J. McCarthy proved to be the hometown football hero Monday at Soldier Field.
Unfortunately for Chicago Bears fans, McCarthy’s success came with the rival Minnesota Vikings in his NFL debut.
McCarthy’s outstanding fourth quarter contributed to 21 unanswered points that fueled the Vikings to a 27-24 victory in the season opener after the Bears took a 17-6 lead early in the third quarter.
“Getting the win. That’s what I’ll remember most,” McCarthy said to ESPN sideline reporter Lisa Salters during their interview on the field after the victory.
“Just being here in the hometown. It’s a dream come true. To all the kids out there, it’s possible. I just love my guys and we can’t wait to go to war next week.”
Monday was also a dream come true in many ways for Nazareth head coach Tim Racki.
The lifelong Bears fan was at his first opener. He also had been there for McCarthy’s quarterback debut with the Roadrunners and the University of Michigan, where he captured a national title.
“It was yet another great memory of the journey I’ve been on with this kid for many years. I got to see his parents, a lot of my former players,” Racki said.
“Everywhere I turned, there was somebody I knew. I was wearing his No. 9 jersey so I got heckled by some great one-liners so it was a fun evening. I’m a Bears fan so I knew it was coming.”
McCarthy and the Vikings could have been rattled after the Bears’ Nahshon Wright intercepted McCarthy and returned the ball 74 yards down the right sideline for a touchdown and the 17-6 advantage.
The Bears appeared on the verge of another score. But holding and intentional grounding penalties stifled the drive and kicker Cairo Santos missed a 50-yard field goal.
McCarthy and the Vikings seized the momentum. “He always responds so well to adversity and setbacks, even when he was young, because he’s always been mature beyond his years,” Racki said.
“He always had that reset demeanor. When the debut for your first NFL game is not only on national TV but your hometown, it’s not more pressure packed than that.”
McCarthy first found Justin Jefferson for a 13-yard TD pass with 12:13 remaining to close to 17-12 after a missed two-point conversion.
The Vikings then took a 20-17 lead with 9:46 to go on McCarthy’s 27-yard TD strike to Aaron Jones Sr.
McCarthy then all but put the game away with his 14-yard TD run with 2:53 remaining for a 27-17 lead. The Bears scored a TD with 2:02 left but the Vikings ran out the clock.
“(The Vikings’) run game really started to gain steam in the fourth quarter as well. Obviously, that’s going to help any quarterback and it helped J.J.,” Racki said.
McCarthy finished 13-for-20 passing for 143 yards.
“(Our team said) that we’ve got to believe,” McCarthy said to Salters. “That’s one thing that we can do is control is the controllables and our belief in going out there and executing that next play. We’ve got a great group and everyone was on the same page with that.”
Racki texted with McCarthy last week and enjoyed the time with his parents before and after the game. The pregame became a time for reflection.
“I watched him warm up in an NFL uniform and seeing that he’s turned into a man with muscle put on and how big he is, I took in the moment,” Racki said. “I just sat there reflecting on the kid I knew in sixth grade riding his bike over to Nazareth to play pickup football with older kids. And there he is.
“I know how hard he’s been working for this goal and to see it come to fruition, all of the highs and lows he’s been through, and his journey and to have been a part of it, it was really a special moment.”