CHICAGO — The stage was set for young quarterback J.J. McCarthy to make the Chicago Bears pay for passing on him twice in the 2024 NFL draft. After cheering for them as a kid growing up in La Grange Park, Ill., McCarthy had a chance to beat them in front of a national television audience in primetime.

Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy celebrates after scoring during the second half of an NFL football game against the Chicago Bears Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

It looked like any chance of that went up in flames shortly after halftime when McCarthy threw an interception that was returned for a touchdown.

To that point, the Vikings had been an abject disaster on offense. The potential passing attack that has become synonymous with head coach Kevin O’Connell was nowhere to be found. The rebuilt running game that was touted for the past few months was rendered completely ineffective.

Not exactly a recipe for a comeback.

But the Vikings kept hanging around and hanging around, and when McCarthy found a rhythm they unleashed a fourth-quarter tidal wave on the Bears. The result? A stunning 27-24 win for the Vikings at Soldier Field.

In the end, McCarthy completed 13 of 20 passes for 143 yards and a pair of touchdowns, to go along with a couple of carries for 25 yards and a touchdown on the ground.

Though it wasn’t the sexiest stat line on the surface, McCarthy most importantly showed his moxie, staring adversity directly in the face and emerging victorious.

The slow start for McCarthy caused an overreaction on social media, with a chunk of the fan base labeling him a bust. There wasn’t much to write home about as McCarthy’s nerves seemed to get the best of him for prolonged stretches.

Aaron Jones Sr. #33 of the Minnesota Vikings runs into the end zone for a touchdown during the game against the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field on Sept. 08, 2025 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images)

On the other end, quarterback Caleb Williams showcased how dangerous he can be when the play breaks down, escaping pressure and rushing for a touchdown to put the Bears up 7-0 in the early stages.

Meanwhile, as the Vikings continued to struggle mightily on offense, their best play to that point was a pass interference penalty that gained them 42 yards and set up a field goal from Will Reichard to trim the deficit to 7-3.

A field goal from Cairo Santos stretched the Bears’ lead to 10-3 before McCarthy finally showed some life with a 31-yard completion to receiver Jalen Nailor. That set up a 59-yard field goal from Reichard to cut the deficit to 10-6 at halftime.

Then came the rookie mistake from McCarthy that momentarily flipped the game on its head.

Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson, left, catches a touchdown pass as Chicago Bears defensive back Kevin Byard III (31) defends during the second half of an NFL football game Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

After moving the Vikings into scoring position, McCarthy tried to rip a ball to the sideline, and cornerback Nahshon Wright undercut the route and returned it 74 yards for a touchdown to make it 17-6 in favor of the Bears.

A missed field goal from Santos kept the door ajar, however, and the Vikings came storming through.

After a few nice runs from running back Jordan Mason, McCarthy threw the first touchdown pass of his career, a strike to Justin Jefferson that cut the deficit to 17-12 after a failed conversion.

The Vikings’ onslaught continued as McCarthy found running back Aaron Jones for a deep touchdown pass on the next possession to make it 20-17.

The next time McCarthy got the ball back, he showcased his legs, taking a read option 14 yards into the end zone to stretch the Vikings’ lead to 27-17.

Chicago Bears defensive back Nahshon Wright (26) runs to score a touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half of an NFL football game, Monday, Sept. 8, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Kamil Krzaczynski)

Though the Bears got a touchdown late on a pass from Williams to Rome Odunze to make it 27-24, the Vikings walked away with a win. And McCarthy started his career like he has at pretty much every stage of his life.

With a win.

 

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Scott County authorities say a surveyor working along a New Market Township roadway was fatally struck by a vehicle late Monday morning.

According to the sheriff’s office, the 44-year-old Minneapolis man, who wasn’t immediately identified, was hit by an SUV shortly before noon at Texas Avenue and 230th Street East.

Investigators say a 58-year-old man from Lonsdale was driving a 2025 Chevrolet Equinox north on Texas Avenue when he hit the surveyor.

Other motorists stopped at the scene and rendered aid until medics arrived. However, the victim was pronounced dead at the scene. The driver of the Equinox was not injured.

Preliminary investigation didn’t find evidence that drugs or alcohol were factors. The Minnesota State Patrol is assisting with the investigation.

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Service workers at the University of Minnesota are preparing to go on strike following the rejection of the school’s latest labor contract.

Members of Teamsters Local 320, which represents janitorial, maintenance and food service workers, were expected to start halting work Monday night as part of the systemwide strike.

“If we have to strike, we will,” said Grady Johnson, a union steward and gardener at the Twin Cities campus. “We want a fair contract, and we’re very close. I still think, I hope, this can be resolved, and we can go back to our day-to-day being at the university.”

The workers’ strike was to begin at 10 p.m. Monday on the Crookston and Morris campuses and expand to Duluth and satellite campuses early Tuesday morning. Workers at the Twin Cities campus were scheduled to join the strike Tuesday at 7 p.m.

The union’s current contract expired June 30, and negotiations have been ongoing since late March. Union members filed an intent to strike Aug. 7, with initial plans for the strike to begin Aug. 20, just as students were starting to return. The university put forth a new contract — its last, best and final offer — on Aug. 19, and the strike was put on hold so workers could consider the contract.

Votes were held across campuses leading up to last Friday’s deadline, when the contract offer expired. With an 82% majority, union members voted to reject the offer, citing frustrations over annual wage increases and changes to the contract’s expiration date.

“The university likes to talk about all the uncertainties that they’re facing, but we are facing significant uncertainties as workers as well,” said Kayli Staubus, who works as a cook at UMD and served on the union’s negotiation committee. “If there are cuts and belt-tightening that needs to be done, there are other places that can happen, besides our bargaining unit, which is some of the absolute lowest-paid workers on campus.”

In response to Friday’s vote, the university stated that current financial pressures have played a role in union negotiations this year, but it remains committed to prioritizing faculty and staff members.

“The University must balance the needs and desires of Teamsters Local 320 members with the University’s obligation to its many stakeholders to be good financial stewards, particularly given the financial challenges we are facing,” Gregg Goldman, executive vice president for finance and operations at the university, said in a statement released Friday.

As part of their membership, the Teamsters union includes cooks and other food service workers, as well as groundskeepers, janitors, parking attendants, maintenance workers, mechanics and more.

“We are all over campus. Basically, every kind of service position that there is, is performed by Teamster staff,” said Staubus. “So there’s going to be a huge gap in the student experience until the university makes this right. Obviously, we don’t want that.

“We’re out here for a living wage job that people can afford to stick with for the duration, and retire from someday,” she said. “That’s what we’re here to win.”

While the university has stated that it hopes to avoid a strike, plans are being developed to ensure that “vital services” on campus continue if a resolution isn’t reached.

“There’s a lot of frustration at the administration, and a lot of determination that we deserve better, and we’re going to get it,” said Johnson. “I’m personally very proud of my job. I really like my work, and I’m proud to work for the university. And to that measure, it does feel like a bit of a betrayal to get an offer that, I think, really doesn’t give us a fair shake for what we do.”

The university’s last offer included a 3% pay raise and two lump sum payments of $500, to be paid out in fall 2025 and July 2026. Union members would also see a minimum 2% pay increase the following year.

Shift differentials, or added pay for employees working non-standard hours, were also increased as part of the Aug.19 contract. Additionally, the university’s offer included an extension from six to 10 weeks for how long an employee can be on leave before their job is optioned for reassignment.

Concerns over wage increases and the change to the contract end date have become the biggest “sticking points” in negotiations, Staubus and Johnson both said. In the past, the Teamster contract ended in the summer, giving members time to organize outside of the school year. However, in this negotiation cycle, the university has pushed for a December expiration date, with the last offer optioning for a year-and-a-half-long contract, concluding Dec. 31, 2026.

“That’s something we’re not willing to accept, and membership has been very clear,” said Johnson. “We feel this is a maneuver to ensure that we have less leverage bargaining with the university, and given the way they’ve been bargaining with us, we’re not willing to concede on that. So it’s just a non-starter.”

At the start of negotiations, union members asked for a 9% pay increase, after conducting an internal audit that showed several of their most populated job classifications had not kept up with the rate of inflation. Other requests, like increases for weekend shift differentials and free campus parking for workers, were pushed to the wayside during negotiations, said Staubus, to get to this point.

“The tentative agreements that we have come to, there was a lot of compromise involved in those on both parts,” Staubus added. “We have dropped a lot of things that are important to either subsections or the entirety of our membership. … We hoped that the university would recognize all the movements that we’ve made and respond in kind, but it seems that they are digging in. So if they’re here to play hardball, so are we.”

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