Vikings vs. Bears Same Game Parlay MNF Week 1: The Debut of J.J. McCarthy

• J.J. McCarthy, a first-round pick from the 2024 NFL Draft, will make his NFL debut for the Minnesota Vikings. 

• This game also marks the debut of Ben Johnson as the head coach of the Chicago Bears. 

• Vikings wide receiver Jordan Addison is suspended for the first three games of the season. 

To close out Week 1 of the 2025-26 NFL season, we have an NFC North matchup between the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings, live from Soldier Field. 

We have a lot of debuts in this game, including Ben Johnson as the head coach of the Bears and J.J. McCarthy as the quarterback of the Vikings. 

Below is a 3-leg Same Game Parlay with +392 for this game with odds from FanDuel Sportsbook. Right now, at FanDuel Sportsbook, you can get $300 in bonus bets when you place a winning $5 wager. 

Let’s dive in.

Vikings vs. Bears Same Game Parlay Picks for MNF Week 1

Vikings ML (-126) at FanDuel Sportsbook

The Vikings Super Bowl odds are +2500, and they have a chance to go even higher this week with a statement win in Week 1 with their new quarterback on the road. 

The Bears have a lot of pieces on offense, and they’re at home, but I trust the Vikings' coaching staff more. 

Johnson has been an excellent offensive coordinator, but Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell has consistently proven that he can maximize his quarterbacks' potential. 

Now, he has a guy whom they drafted in the first round of the 2024 NFL Draft and won a national championship. He tore his meniscus last season and missed all of 2024-25, but he’s ready to go for this one. 

I expect the Vikings to be a bit more conservative in this one for McCarthy’s first start. They have an excellent running game, and McCarthy has always been an efficient passer. 

I think we’ll see some growing pains for this Bears offense as it adjusts to Johnson’s offense, which is likely far more in-depth than whatever quarterback Caleb Williams and the rest of the offense were working with last season. 

They have an offense that could be a work in progress, while McCarthy, though it’s his debut, has been on the team for a year, and O’Connell has a more than proven track record. 

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Justin Jefferson Anytime TD (+125) at FanDuel Sportsbook

While I’m not holding my breath on McCarthy racking up 40 pass attempts or anything like that, I think, when he does pass the ball, he’ll be looking for Jefferson early and often. 

The Vikings will likely look to run the ball plenty in McCarthy’s debut, but he needs that No. 1 guy to look to, and that’s definitely Jefferson. 

Addison is suspended, the team just traded for Adam Thielen, and outside of that, he will have T.J. Hockenson and Aaron Jones at his disposal, but none of these guys have the ability that Jefferson has. 

In 2024, Jefferson saw 36% of his targets come 10-19 yards downfield. He caught 31 passes for 570 yards and four touchdowns. 

On passes like that, McCarthy had nearly 1,000 passing yards and seven touchdowns. He also had six drops in that range. 

We could see Jefferson littered with targets, and I think he’ll find the end zone, impacting his NFL Offensive Player of the Year odds. 

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Jordan Mason Over 40.5 Rushing Yards (-114) at FanDuel Sportsbook

I’m definitely taking a risk with this one, but I get the feeling that the Vikings want to use Mason more on first and second down, and while Jones will mix in there, he’ll be used more as a pass-catcher. 

Mason was productive as a ball carrier for the 49ers last season, rushing 153 times for 789 yards (5.2 yards per carry) and three touchdowns. 

In games he started, he never finished with less than 58 rushing yards. 

It’ll be interesting to see how it shakes out, and Week 1 will be telling, but I’ll take a chance on Mason. 

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