J.J. McCarthy made a quick impression in his NFL debut, leading the Vikings to a historic fourth-quarter comeback against the Bears on Monday night. He was in position to lead that comeback because he did not play well early in the game, and even threw a very bad pick-six to Chicago's Nashon Wright.

Peyton Manning, like most people, was not impressed by McCarthy at that point in the game, but one of his teammates spoke up on Thursday and took the blame for the lowlight. Star wide receiver Justin Jefferson explained to the press how he was the one who made the mistake that led to the Bears taking a double-digit lead in Week 1.

“J.J. wasn't ready for me to be out that soon," Jefferson told the press. "That's why the ball was thrown inside of me, where it needed to be outside. So it’s mostly on me, on that play. I'm just happy that J.J. really didn't think about it too much. J.J. was on to the next play.”

Jefferson appears to be McCarthy's biggest supporter right now. He had advice for McCarthy before his start, told him he wouldn't give up on him when he was struggling early, caught his first career touchdown pass, and now has taken the blame for his biggest mistake.

Jefferson is going above and beyond to make things work with his young quarterback.

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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Vikings Teammate Takes Blame for J.J. McCarthy's Pick-Six.