Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy made his long-awaited NFL debut on Monday Night Football in Week 1, and after three quarters of disappointment, he ripped off a trio of fourth-quarter touchdowns to lead his team to an improbable 27-24 comeback victory over the Chicago Bears.
It was an impressive primetime performance for McCarthy in his first NFL game, and he’ll have his second consecutive matchup against a fellow 2024 top-10 pick when he squares off with Michael Penix Jr. and the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday Night Football in Week 2.
McCarthy had plenty of praise for Penix when speaking about him during his Saturday afternoon media session and said that he is a “tremendous quarterback” and he has “so much respect for him” after all he has been through.
“He had my Heisman vote, I’m not gonna lie. Michael Penix, everything that he’s been through, all the adversities, battled through his injuries, just continuing to stick to the process and keep pressing on. He’s just a tremendous quarterback, and I just have so much respect for him,” McCarthy said.
#Vikings QB JJ McCarthy always had respect for #Falcons QB Michael Penix Jr.
Tomorrow night the two will go up against each other yet again.pic.twitter.com/TmWsvDfo1y
— VikingzFanPage (@vikingzfanpage) September 13, 2025
McCarthy and Penix last faced off in early 2024 in the National Championship when McCarthy’s Michigan Wolverines took down Penix’s Washington Huskies, and it will be fun to see them go at it again less than two years later.
Penix threw for 298 yards and a touchdown while adding 21 rushing yards and another TD on the ground in a Week 1 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he put his team in a position to win the game at the end before Younghoe Koo missed a field goal to send things to overtime.
Two young quarterbacks battling in primetime for a couple of up-and-coming NFC contenders is exactly what makes the NFL great, and this could be the next chapter of what could be a burgeoning, mutually respectful rivalry between McCarthy and Penix.
NEXT: J.J. McCarthy Makes Big Personal Announcement
