The Chicago Bears are not only thrilled with yet another victory after taking down Mason Rudolph and the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 12, but they also can relish in how brutal J.J. McCarthy and the rival Minnesota Vikings looked against the Green Bay Packers.
Ever since his Week 1 comeback victory, which made it appear as though the Vikings have transitioned away from Sam Darnold quite nicely, McCarthy has been tough to watch. After the Bears dominated him, Minnesota came out and looked even worse against Green Bay.
McCarthy had a pitiful -0.65 EPA per play and xQBR of 4.3 (out of 100, 50 is average) in the loss to the Packers. In the box score, McCarthy was just 12-19 passing for 87 yards and two interceptions, both of which came when Green Bay was starting to pull away in the second half.
Even including his debut against Chicago, McCarthy has a passer rating of 57.9 in his first six starts. Since 2019, the only other first-round quarterbacks with a passer rating that low in their first six starts are Blaine Gabbert (60.3) and Zach Wilson (63.5). It's rough sledding in Minnesota.
Bears fans can keep laughing at Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy after Week 12 clunker
The concerning part about McCarthy's struggles in the pros is the fact that one of his biggest selling points coming out of Michigan was his ability to avoid negative plays. McCarthy has become one of the worst starters in the league, all while Sam Darnold keeps thriving with the Seahawks.
McCarthy is not just a young quarterback struggling. Even after the injury, this is McCarthy's second year in the offense. With Justin Jefferson, TJ Hockenson, Jordan Addison, and the mind of Kevin O'Connell behind him, McCarthy had much more support than, say, Caleb Williams had in his rookie year.
The Bears, meanwhile, are at 8-3 and still positioned well to make a run at the NFC North title. Even in an up-and-down game against Pittsburgh, Williams has helped the Bears win four straight games while throwing seven touchdowns against zero interceptions.
Read more: Caleb Williams' biggest flaws popping up at worst possible time for Bears in Week 12
The Bears are starting to crest at the same time the Vikings appear to be realizing what a critical mistake they made by picking McCarthy over Darnold has led to a vibe shift that would have been unthinkable even a short time ago. Every Vikings loss hits the same as a Bears win.