CHICAGO — J.J. McCarthy threw two fourth-quarter touchdown passes and ran for another in his long-awaited NFL debut, and the Minnesota Vikings rallied for a season-opening 27-24 win over the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
Chicago’s Caleb Williams had his first career rushing touchdown and threw for a score in Ben Johnson’s first game as the Bears’ coach.
McCarthy delivered down the stretch after struggling through the first three quarters in his first meaningful game since Michigan beat Washington for the national championship at the end of the 2023 season. He sat out last year with a knee injury after the Vikings drafted him with the No. 10 overall pick.
Now, Minnesota is counting on McCarthy.
J.J. McCarthy reacts during the Vikings’ win over the Bears on Sept. 8. AP
“I felt poise from the very beginning,” Vikings coach Kevin O’Connell said.
O’Connell, in fact, was so confident in his quarterback that he said he told McCarthy at halftime: “You are going to bring us back to win this game.”
“The look in his eye was fantastic,” O’Connell continued. “The best thing was just the belief I felt from the team, from the unit, and ultimately, that doesn’t get done without him in the second half.”
J.J. McCarthy attempts a throw during the Vikings’ Sept. 8 win against the Bears. Getty Images
McCarthy was empowered by hearing those words.
“That guy is one of the best — if not the best — coaches, in my opinion, in the National Football League,” he said. “Any kind of compliments or belief like that, it means the world. That just gave me the confidence to go out there and just execute the ball plays and have a fast arm and make quick, decisive decisions. And it worked out.”
Things weren’t looking good for McCarthy after Nahshon Wright returned an interception 74 yards for a touchdown to give Chicago a 17-6 lead in the third quarter. But he turned it around in the fourth.
McCarthy connected with Justin Jefferson for a 13-yard touchdown. His 2-point conversion pass failed.
Justin Jefferson celebrates a touchdown during the Vikings’ win over the Bears on Sept. 8. Getty Images
Minnesota then needed just three plays to grab the lead, with McCarthy throwing a 27-yard TD pass to Aaron Jones. The conversion pass to Adam Thielen put the Vikings on top 20-17 with 9:46 remaining.
McCarthy made it a 10-point game with about three minutes left when he faked a handoff and turned up the right side for a 14-yard touchdown run. Chicago then went 65 yards for a score, with Williams throwing a 1-yard TD pass to Rome Odunze with just over two minutes remaining, but the Vikings hung on to beat the Bears for the eighth time in the past nine games.
“We don’t win this game unless J.J. plays the way he did in the second half,” O’Connell said. “Most importantly, he kept the belief of this football team behind him, and now, we know it’s possible. You hope to not be in these circumstances very often. But this team’s made of the right stuff.”
Caleb Williams attempts a throw during the Bears’ loss to the Vikings on Sept. 8. Getty Images
McCarthy completed 13 of 20 passes for 143 yards. He grew up in the Chicago area and the first game he attended at Soldier Field was against the Vikings 18 years ago.
Jefferson and Jones each had 44 yards receiving.
Will Reichard kicked two field goals, including a 59-yarder near the end of the first half that matched a Soldier Field record.
Williams, coming off a shaky rookie season after being drafted with the No. 1 overall pick, completed 21 of 35 passes for 210 yards and a score. The former Heisman Trophy winner also ran for a 9-yard TD in the first quarter. He said the way Johnson called the game was not the issue for the Bears.
“It’s not a play-call thing, it’s not anything like that,” Williams said. “It’s just being able go out there and execute the plays that are called and be able to execute them at a high level. That’s something that we take pride in and today that didn’t happen.”
Wright, who played for Minnesota last season, jumped the route on a pass intended for Jefferson early in the third and went untouched along the sideline for his first career touchdown.
A person targeted during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement traffic stop dragged an ICE officer with a vehicle while resisting arrest in a Chicago suburb Friday morning, prompting the officer to fatally shoot the person and leaving the officer with injuries, the Department of Homeland Security said.
The slain target of the stop, Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, was an undocumented immigrant with a history of reckless driving, according to DHS. The officer, whose name was not immediately released, suffered severe injuries but is in stable condition, a DHS official told CNN.
The traffic stop happened in Franklin Park, a community about 15 miles west of downtown Chicago, the DHS official said.
“We are praying for the speedy recovery of our law enforcement officer. He followed his training, used appropriate force, and properly enforced the law to protect the public and law enforcement,” Tricia McLaughlin, Homeland Security assistant secretary, said in a release. “Viral social media videos and activists encouraging illegal aliens to resist law enforcement not only spread misinformation, but also undermine public safety, as well as the safety of our officers and those being apprehended.”
During the stop, Villegas-Gonzalez “drove his car at law enforcement officers,” DHS said in the release.
“One of the ICE officers was hit by the car and dragged a significant distance. Fearing his own life, the officer fired his weapon,” the release reads.
A suspect has been arrested in the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk in Utah, officials said Friday morning. Utah Governor Spencer Cox said the suspect had been identified as Tyler Robinson, 22.
Cox said Robinson resides in Southern Utah and confessed to his father.
Two federal law enforcement sources told CBS News that Robinson’s father saw the photos released by authorities and confronted his son. Robinson admitted to being the person in the photos and his father encouraged him to turn himself in, the sources said. Robinson responded to his father, saying he would rather die by suicide than turn himself in, prompting his father to call a youth pastor close to the family, the sources said. The pastor and Robinson’s father tried to calm him, according to the sources.
The pastor, who is also a court security officer, also called the U.S. Marshals Service, which arrived and detained Robinson, the sources said.
The sources said the Marshals called the Federal Bureau of Investigation, who took Robinson into custody. Robinson was taken into custody late Thursday night, FBI Director Kash Patel said Friday.
Cox said he believed Robinson acted alone, and that there is no information at this time “that would lead to any additional arrests.”
Cox thanked the family members of the suspected shooter, who he said “did the right thing” in bringing him to law enforcement.
A mugshot of Tyler Robinson.
Utah Governor’s Office
President Trump was the first to announce the suspect was in custody during an appearance on “Fox and Friends” Friday morning.
Cox said a family member told investigators that Robinson had become more political in recent years, and referenced an incident where Robinson had come to dinner and mentioned Kirk’s upcoming appearance.
Kirk shot while engaging in campus debate
Kirk, who was 31, was engaging in one of his signature “Prove Me Wrong” debates at Utah Valley University when he was shot and killed on Wednesday afternoon. The event was part of Turning Point USA’s “The American Comeback Tour,” and there were over 3,000 people in attendance when Kirk was shot, police said.
Kirk’s next event had been set for Utah State University. The university confirmed that Robinson had attended the school as a pre-engineering major for one semester in 2021 before taking a leave of absence.
Kirk had just begun to debate someone in the audience about gun violence when he was shot, witnesses said. Just one shot was fired, Utah Department of Public Safety Commissioner Beau Mason said on Wednesday night. Kirk was struck in the neck.
A university spokeswoman said the single shot is believed to have been fired from the Losee Center for Student Success, which houses a number of services and resources. A law enforcement source told CBS News the gunman appeared to have fired from the building’s roof.
Details on evidence emerge
After the shooting, the shooter jumped off the building and fled into a neighborhood off campus, Mason said. Photos released by law enforcement showed a person wearing a dark baseball cap, black glasses, a long-sleeved dark shirt that appeared to feature an American flag and an eagle, and dark-colored pants.
The FBI asked for the public’s help in identifying this person of interest in connection with the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk at Utah Valley University.
FBI
Investigators recovered a high-powered, bolt-action rifle that they believe was used in the assassination, Robert Bohls, the FBI special agent in charge of the bureau’s Salt Lake City field office, said Thursday. The gun was found wrapped in a dark towel in a wooded area where the shooter fled, Bohls said.
Cox also said investigators reviewed messages on the messaging platform Discord from a person named “Tyler” that referenced a rifle wrapped in a towel that was left in the woods and engravings on bullets.
Cox said that there were inscriptions on the casings of the fired bullet and three unfired ones. The fired bullet casing contained the inscription, “Notices bulges OwO what’s this?” An unfired bullet casing read, “Hey fascist, catch!” And a second unfired casing read, “oh bella ciao, bella cio, bella ciao, ciao, ciao.” A third unfired casing said, “If you read this, you are gay.”
Cox declined to speculate on the meaning of the inscriptions.
“I will leave that up to you to interpret what those engravings mean,” Cox said. He added that the “Hey fascist, catch!” inscription “speaks for itself.”
The arrest comes after two people were briefly taken into custody, then released, on Wednesday. Neither individual had ties to the shooting, the Utah Department of Public Safety said on Wednesday night. The second person taken into custody was charged with obstruction of justice, the department said.
Kirk was a close ally of Mr. Trump and a friend of Donald Trump Jr.
The president, who ordered flags be flown at half-staff until Sunday evening, announced plans to honor Kirk with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, calling him “a giant of his generation, a champion of liberty, and an inspiration to millions and millions of people.” He also released a video statement blaming the “radical left” for the killing. Politicians and figures on both sides of the aisle have condemned Kirk’s killing.
Kirk is survived by his wife, Erika, and their two young children. Vice President JD Vance accompanied Kirk’s casket as it was transported Thursday aboard Air Force Two to Arizona, where the family lives.
Kerry Breen is a news editor at CBSNews.com. A graduate of New York University’s Arthur L. Carter School of Journalism, she previously worked at NBC News’ TODAY Digital. She covers current events, breaking news and issues including substance use.
A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent shot and killed a man in Franklin Park, Illinois Friday morning after authorities say he attempted to drive into agents.
A Department of Homeland Security official first told CBS News the agent was trying to make an arrest, which the man resisted and tried to drive his vehicle into agents. The agent then opened fire.
ICE officials confirmed the fatal shooting, saying the incident began with “targeted law enforcement activity.”
“During a vehicle stop, the suspect resisted and attempted to drive his vehicle into the arrest team, striking an officer and subsequently dragging him as he fled the scene. Fearing for his life, the officer discharged his firearm and struck the subject,” the statement said.
ICE said both the agent and the suspect were taken to a local hospital for treatment, where the man died. ICE said the agent was dragged and suffered “severe injuries.” The agent is being treated at a local hospital where his condition has stabilized, ICE said.
DHS officials identified the man shot and killed as Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez, who they said had a criminal history of reckless driving. They said he entered the country at an unknown date and time.
The agent was dragged by the car and suffered “multiple injuries” according to DHS.
The FBI confirmed it has been informed of the situation and is helping with the investigation.
“The FBI is aware of the incident in Franklin Park and is assisting law enforcement in response,” a spokesperson for the Chicago field office said. “There is no threat to public safety or further information available at this time.”
The village of Franklin Park is about 15 miles northwest of Chicago, near O’Hare International Airport.
NEWS: An ICE operation turned deadly in Chicago today, after a suspect resisted arrest and tried to drive his vehicle into agents, prompting an officer to shoot the suspect, who has been pronounced dead, a DHS official tells me. The officer suffered severe injuries but is stable.
Federal agents have been ramping up immigration enforcement activity all week as part of what the Trump administration is calling “Operation Midway Blitz.”
This is a developing story. Check back with CBS News Chicago for updates.
Sara Tenenbaum is the Senior Digital Producer for CBS News Chicago covering breaking, local and community news in Chicago. She previously worked as a digital producer and senior digital producer for ABC7 Chicago.
