Vikes Beat the Bears with a Furious Late-Game Comeback
The NFL is bananas. Josh Allen throws for more than 250 yards in the fourth quarter to lead his team back from a 15-point deficit to beat the Ravens on Sunday night. Well, move over Josh, because JJ McCarthy knows something about late game heroics.
The Minnesota Vikings wrapped up the first week of the 2025 NFL season on Monday night the road game in Chicago and they came away with a 27-24 victory after one of the most improbable comebacks in their history, which is saying something. Down by 11 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, the Vikings watched the Bears miss a field goal and the Purple comeback commenced. JJ McCarthy, the second-year quarterback in his first start in the NFL, came to life and became the first quarterback in NFL history to have three touchdowns in the fourth quarter in his debut (per ESPN). When he crossed the goal line with his own rushing score, the Vikings grabbed a 10-point lead and held on for the win.
The victory doesn’t happen, however, without the defense, which gave up a touchdown early and another one late, but provided the offense an opportunity to win the game. With big play after big play by Eric Wilson, Javon Hargrave, Josh Metellus and the rest of the defensive line, the team hung around long enough for McCarthy and the offense to become ignited.
To everybody watching, the Vikings looked dead in the water after the third quarter, but then momentum changed—and the Bears could not stem the tide. The Vikings defense gave up only 17 points on the road on Monday in Soldier Field (where weird things often take place).
And now J.J. McCarthy can grab the team, the offense and the fan base and become the leader Purple Nation is hoping he will become. Far from perfect (whether it was due to debut game jitters or not), McCarthy looks like he belongs. He finally got a taste of NFL action, and the work now begins to become an even better player in this league.
It was a big night for the QB and even bigger one for the team, and the co-hosts of Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast (Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig, NFL and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune and startribune.com) are on hand to talk about it all. From the sleepy Vikings first half to the fans’ sleepless night due to victory celebration, we will break it all down. Tune in and check it out. Skol!
Browns’ Quinshon Judkins Gets Bad News Ahead of Week 2
Quinshon Judkins signed his rookie contract with the Cleveland Browns, but it doesn’t seem likely he will be in the lineup this week.
Judkins missed all of training camp and the preseason as he was holding out for his contract. As well as his legal issues were being resolved. As Judkins is practicing ahead of Week 2, his status is uncertain. But the Browns listed him as the fourth-string running back on the unofficial depth chart.
Judkins is behind Jerome Ford, Dylan Sampson, and Raheim Sanders, so at this rate, it does seem likely he won’t be in the lineup for Week 2 when the Browns are on the road to play the Baltimore Ravens.
Judkins will need time to get ramped up and up to game speed before he gets into game action. Meanwhile, Cleveland got a temporary roster exemption for Judkins, meaning he can practice and doesn’t count on the 53-man roster for the time being.
“The #Browns are expected to get a temporary roster exemption for RB Quinshon Judkins, who is signing his fully guaranteed rookie contract today,” Pelissero wrote on X. “That’s unrelated to the league’s ongoing disciplinary process; it’s standard for players who missed camp and can last up to two games.”
Although Judkins isn’t technically on the 53-man roster yet, the hope was that he would play in Week 2.
Browns Coach Isn’t Sure When Judkins Will Play
After Cleveland’s Week 1 loss, the attention turned to Judkins and when he will be in the lineup.
However, after the loss, Browns head coach Kevin Stefanski wasn’t thinking about Judkins or his return to the field.
“We’ll see,” Stefanski said on Sept. 8. “Got to get through this week of practice, but don’t know.”
If Judkins does get up to speed, he could be in the lineup in Week 2. But, that would mean Cleveland would have to make another roster move as he technically isn’t on the 53-man roster yet.
But, for now, Judkins will practice all week, but all signs point to him likely taking another week to get ready before making his debut in Week 3.
The Browns are a massive 11.5-point underdogs against the Ravens in Week 2 on the road.
Cleveland Had High Expectations for Judkins
After the Browns selected Judkins in the second round, he was expected to be the team’s starting running back.
Following the draft, Cleveland’s general manager, Andrew Berry, said he expected Judkins to be a bell-cow-like running back for the team.
“We feel like he’s just a very well-rounded back,” Berry said. “We’ve obviously been spoiled over the past couple of years, particularly with Nick and Kareem (Hunt). And we feel like he is very much in that mold in terms of skill set. Not necessarily saying that he’s going to, with certainty, develop into one of those players. We certainly hope that’s the case. But we think that he can be a bell cow runner that can really carry the load for us.”
Judkins was selected 36th overall in the 2025 NFL Draft after helping the Ohio State Buckeyes win the national championship.
