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Cassie catches up with Chicago Bears safety Jaquan Brisker
Jaquan Brisker is preparing for his first game day since October 2024, and the Bears' defense is glad to have him back. Cassie Carlson catches up with the fourth-year safety before Week 1 vs. Minnesota.
Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Dennis Allen knows he might have to roll with a few punches.
The season officially opens on Sept. 9. Monday Night Football comes to Chicago, and the Bears go against NFC North rival Minnesota, which has a card up its sleeve.
That card is quarterback J.J. McCarthy. Whether the McCarthy card ends up being an ace, or something else entirely, is to be determined.
The well-known parts of the Minnesota Vikings’ offense are the parts most teams wish they had.
Justin Jefferson is an all-world type of wide receiver. Behind Jefferson, Aaron Jones is a running back with a history of performing well against the Bears, Adam Thielen is as dependable as it gets and tight end TJ Hockenson is one of the better tight ends in the NFL.
But, McCarthy is the unknown and is the X-factor for Monday’s game. The Nazareth Academy alum, La Grange Park native and 10th overall pick in the 2024 NFL Draft will make his first-career start on Monday after sitting for the entire 2024 season with a knee injury.
After a year of waiting, McCarthy will make his debut on Monday. History won’t be on his side. Allen isn’t going to overlook any part of McCarthy, even with a lack of experience.
"He’s here for a reason," Allen said Friday.
By the numbers:
When McCarthy starts on Monday, he’ll be the 32nd quarterback since 1966 to make their first NFL start on the road. Those starts haven’t been kind to quarterbacks.
Quarterbacks starting their first game on the road have an 8-23 record since ’66. Coincidentally, the last quarterback to win their first-career start on the road in a season opener was Sam Darnold, who McCarthy replaced in Minnesota. Darnold, then a New York Jet, beat the Detroit Lions 48-17 on Monday Night Football.
Still, it needs to be said McCarthy’s situation is different.
Going back to the start of the 2010 season, each quarterback who made their first-career start on the road has been a rookie. McCarthy isn’t a rookie. He’s been in Vikings’ head coach Kevin O’Connell’s system for a year and is taking the reins of a team that won 14 games in 2024.
O’Connell has simplified the mental approach for McCarthy.
"Everything about the way Coach O'Connell talks about playing the quarterback position is success in the simple," McCarthy told reporters this week. "At the end of the day, if you stick to the reads and do your job, then it'll be a good outcome for that play."
‘All quarterbacks get it’:
Allen’s message to the Bears’ defense that McCarthy is in the NFL for a reason is to make sure the team doesn’t overlook the new kid on the block.
McCarthy won big games at Michigan. He won a national championship.
The players have taken that in stride, but took the focus away from McCarthy. Instead, the defense focuses on how they’ll play and adjust if need be.
After all, there’s no tape on McCarthy at the NFL level after O’Connell took him under his wing as a rookie.
"It’s about us being prepared to do what we’re asked to do at a high level," defensive tackle Grady Jarrett said. "Everything else, it can be up and down, but it all will be just skeptics. Just guessing, for real."
Jarrett said the Vikings aren’t a complete unknown. They know some of the schemes O’Connell has as a play caller and know they have top-tier weapons to defend. O’Connell has recent history on his side, too. The Vikings are 5-1 against the Bears under O’Connell and have won five-straight games against the Bears at Soldier Field.
When it comes to the quarterback, the Bears have to be prepared for the two extremes.
"At the end of the day, it can go either way," Jarrett said.
Whichever way it goes, the Bears need to be prepared for it. But they can swing that direction in their favor by getting pressure on the quarterback.
The unknown is something the Bears have to prepare for. But, they understand they can impact the unknown, too.
"All quarterbacks get it, no matter who they are," Bears defensive tackle Chris Williams said. "Excited for it no matter what."