Chicago Bears cornerback Jaylon Johnson gave the Minnesota Vikings’ top two stars, Justin Jefferson and J.J. McCarthy, some bulletin board material ahead of their primetime matchup.

Ahead of ESPN’s “Monday Night Football,” which will be McCarthy’s first start of his career, Johnson expressed his optimism that the Bears defense will rattle McCarthy.

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“I’m more enticed to go against [WR Justin Jefferson] than the quarterback, per se,” Johnson said, per ESPN. “But hopefully there are some passes that are left inside for me to be able to intercept on certain coverages or whatever the case may be. We’re looking forward to disrupting [McCarthy] a lot.”

Drafted the same year as Jefferson, Johnson, a two-time Pro Bowl cornerback, has reveled in the matchup over the years, although it’s been proven to be more of a team effort in stopping Jefferson. In eight career games against Chicago, Jefferson has averaged 85.6 yards receiving per game.

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Johnson has been limited in practice with a calf/groin injury, but he seemingly appears ready to go with his comments ahead of the game.

McCarthy enters the game as the youngest starter in the league at just 22 years old. He is coming off a meniscus injury that forced him to miss his entire rookie season.

If Johnson can’t play with his injury, the next cornerback up to the task of stopping Jefferson would be Nahshon Wright, who spent the 2024 season matched up with Jefferson as a Vikings practice-squad corner.

“It reassured me that I belong in this league and that I can play,” Wright told The Athletic. “Going against someone of that stature and being challenged to match him on certain routes every day, it obviously helped. As a practice squad guy, that was needed reassurance.”

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