Just when things seemingly couldn't get worse for the sputtering Minnesota Vikings' offense last Monday night, J.J. McCarthy leaves a ball intended for Justin Jefferson on the far sideline inside, and the Chicago Bears return it for a pick-six to go up 17-6 in the third quarter.
At this point, head coach Kevin O'Connell had already given his halftime pep talk, telling the team that McCarthy would lead them to a win. That hope took another hit, considering the Vikings netted a total of two yards the rest of the quarter.
Many fans sitting at home, no matter how hard they tried, couldn't see a path to victory on Monday night, and rightfully so. Outside of Minnesota's defense slowly keeping the team in the game by not allowing the Bears to add to their lead, there was nothing particularly noteworthy happening. Maybe it was too big a stage for McCarthy; perhaps he hadn't fully grasped what he needed to do within this offense just yet.
Kevin O'Connell didn't believe that for a second, and it's the reason he won Coach of the Year last season.
The opportunity was evident when the Bears missed a 50-yard field goal to start the fourth quarter. McCarthy led a six-play, 60-yard drive capped off by an absolute strike to the middle of the end zone for his first touchdown pass to Jefferson of the season. O'Connell's commitment to the run with Jordan Mason on that drive set up a deep out to Jefferson a couple of plays before the score. That throw confirmed everything O'Connell always knew about No. 9.
In his postgame press conference, O'Connell said that "the look in [McCarthy's] eye was fantastic" when O'Connell told the team that McCarthy would bring them back.
Aided by McCarthy's heroics and unflinching nature, O'Connell's late-game play-calling and decision-making prove why he is one of the best coaches — if not the best — in the NFL right now.
After the defense made quick work to get the Bears off the field after the first Vikings touchdown in the fourth quarter, O'Connell took advantage of what the Bears were trying to do with a Cover 2 look while playing man coverage underneath.
O'Connell forces the safety to choose on the in-breaking route that Jalen Nailor is running against man coverage on the right side of the field, leaving Aaron Jones in a one-on-one situation with Tremaine Edmunds while running his route out of the backfield.
Jones gives a little double move on Edmunds, space is clear up top because of the safety having to respect his Cover 2 duties, and McCarthy drops it in the bucket, allowing the Vikings to take their first lead of the game.
The fun didn't end there.
With all the momentum in the world on the Vikings' side at this point, they faced a third-and-one from Chicago's 14-yard line, up by three, with a chance to go up 10 with just under three minutes to go in the game.
O'Connell dials up a quarterback keeper with a zone read. Fourteen yards later, McCarthy is greeted in the end zone by Minnesota's entire bench in pure pandemonium. It was the call of the night, and it came as a result of staying patient with the run game late in the game, led by Mason on the ground.
It was O'Connell's sophisticated, mature late-game approach, met with confident execution, that made this fourth quarter one for the ages.
The Bears needed to kick the ball through the end zone to stay on the other side of the two-minute warning after their late-game score, which made the game 27-24. However, they failed to do so. Ty Chandler looked towards the sidelines for guidance on what he should do with this return, and O'Connell alertly told him to take the ball out.
https:/twitter.com/NFL/status/1965255993987924298
There, along with the rest of the Vikings' offense, was KOC waving him on over to come out with the ball and get the clock under two minutes. O'Connell's situational awareness was a little cherry on top that all but secured the victory.
Kevin O'Connell believes in this team, and they, along with the lot of Minnesota, believe in him. We saw a lot happen last Monday night. Still, most importantly, we saw yet another example of the command and relationship O'Connell has with the quarterback, ensuring that he will put McCarthy in spots to make plays that are there for him.
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