McCarthy booed off the field among 5 takeaways from Vikings' loss to Bears

The Vikings missed a huge opportunity as mistakes caught up to them again in a 19-17 loss to the Bears on Sunday. At 4-6, Minnesota is now three games behind the Bears (7-3) and facing mounting questions about quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who, despite a go-ahead touchdown pass late in the fourth quarter, completed only 50% of his passes and threw two interceptions.

There's a lot to digest, and these are five of the items of interest.

1. Self-inflicted wounds cost Minnesota early

On the first drive of the game, McCarthy threw short on a deep out to Jordan Addison, and then airmailed a ball over Justin Jefferson's head on third down. They had to punt. On the second drive, Addison dropped a perfectly thrown ball deep over the middle. They had to punt. After a field goal on their third possession, the fourth Minnesota drive ended when Aaron Jones dropped a ball that would've put the Vikings near the first-down marker. Again, they had to punt.

Overall, three of the first four possessions ended because the Vikings couldn't get out of their own way. That's a recipe for leaving a lot of points off the scoreboard.

2. McCarthy booed off the field

On Minnesota's first possession of the second half, the Vikings went from 3rd-and-2 to 3rd-and-7 after a false start penalty on left tackle Christian Darrisaw, and then McCarthy threw a ball 20 feet over Jefferson's head. The result? McCarthy getting booed off the field, followed by a punt.

JJ airmails another throw and Vikings fans are booing pic.twitter.com/IGjNnLvTv1
— CJ Fogler 🫡 (@cjzero) November 16, 2025

Chicago capitalized with a field goal to take a 16-3 lead, and on the next Minnesota possession, McCarthy had Tom Brady, in the FOX booth, saying "got him," only to have McCarthy underthrow Addison by about 15 yards, narrowly avoiding his third interception of the day. Then on third down, McCarthy threw high again, and the Vikings had to punt. Again.

3. Vikings struggling to score in the first halves of games

The Vikings have been held without a touchdown in the first half in six of 10 games this season, with many of the low-scoring performances extending into the third and fourth quarters.

Week 1: 6 points
Week 2: 6 points
Week 3: 34 points
Week 4: 6 points
Week 6: 7 points
Week 7: 6 points
Week 8: 3 points
Week 9: 17 points
Week 10: 10 points
Week 11: 3 points

4. Throwing Chicago's gift in the trash

Trailing 16-10 and having just gotten the ball back after Cairo Santos missed a 45-yard field goal, the Vikings responded with a dud. They ran the ball for three yards with Jordan Mason on second down, Addison dropped a pass that hit him in the stomach on second down, and McCarthy misfired on third down, though the ball may have been deflected at the line of scrimmage. They wound up going three-and-out, punting the ball right back to Chicago.

Chicago, leading 16-10 and facing 3rd-and-14 late in the fourth quarter, was gifted missed tackles by both Harrison Smith and Josh Metellus, allowing tight end Colston Loveland to break through for a 17-yard gain and a first down. Had one of the star safeties simply stopped Loveland short of the sticks, the Bears would've been forced to punt the ball back to Minnesota.

5. So. Many. Drops.

Addison dropped a dime from McCarthy deep down the middle
Jones dropped one that would've hit him in the face
Addison dropped another that literally hit him in the stomach
Hockenson dropped one that would've been a first down at the two-minute warning

The FOX broadcast had the Vikings at six or seven drops, but those were the most glaring on catchable passes. The issue is that McCarthy is so inaccurate that there's no room for anyone else to make mistakes.

1. Self-inflicted wounds cost Minnesota early

2. McCarthy booed off the field

3. Vikings struggling to score in the first halves of games

4. Throwing Chicago's gift in the trash

5. So. Many. Drops.

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