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Kirk Herbstreit shouts out JJ McCarthy after comeback win in NFL debut

Brian Jones Profile Picby: Brian Jones09/09/25brianjones_93
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Andrew Wevers | USA TODAY Sports

Kirk Herbstreit enjoyed what he saw from Minnesota Vikings quarterback JJ McCarthy in his NFL debut on Monday night. On X/Twitter, Herbstreit reacted to McCarthy leading the Vikings to a comeback win over the Chicago Bears.

“9 in white weathered the storm early when things weren’t going well and just won his team over right before all of our eyes!!!” Kirk Herbstreit wrote. “Congrats [JJ McCarthy].”

McCarthy led the Vikings to a 27-24 win over the Bears to close out Week 1 of the NFL season. It was a tough start for the former Michigan star, throwing a pick-six in the third quarter to give the Bears a 17-6 lead. But McCarthy continued to battle in the fourth quarter, throwing two TD passes and running for one to earn his first NFL win.

The Vikings selected McCarthy in the first round (No. 10 overall) in the 2024 NFL Draft. He did not play last year as he tore his meniscus in his right knee. Sam Darnold was the Vikings’ starting QB last season and led the team to the playoffs. McCarthy was named the starter for this year after Darnold signed with the Seattle Seahawks in free agency.

JJ McCarthy had ‘confidence’ heading into 2025 season

Back in August, McCarthy talked about his confidence level heading into the season. “Just looking at the guys around me and the coaching staff like that gives me all the confidence in the world to go out there — knowing [what] I’ve got at my back, at all of our backs — I just get goosebumps right now just thinking about it,” he said, per the Vikings’ official website.

“The way we attack every single day, we put in the work, and the rest is going to take care of itself. “Having that confidence level as a precursor of the work we put in, it makes me really excited.”

McCarthy also talked about building a connection with his teammates. “I feel like it’s one team, one heartbeat,” he said. “It’s not just the quarterbacks, the receivers, the o-line. We are in this thing together. I know training camp is a lot of head-to-head and going against each other, fights and all that — but every single time we’re in this locker room, it’s one family.”