Viking Brass: Hopeful for 26?
The Packers, who have clinched a playoff spot but cannot catch the Bears for the division title, plan to play third-string quarterback Clayton Tune and rest starters against the Vikings, who will try to salvage a winning record from a season they began with hopes of contending in the NFC.
They have won four games in a row to get to 8-8; they have played three of those knowing they had already been eliminated from the playoff race.
If one drive, maybe even one play, had gone differently, the Vikings’ regular-season finale would have markedly higher stakes.
Had the Bears’ Devin Duvernay not returned a kickoff 56 yards late in the fourth quarter on Nov. 16 to set up Cairo Santos’ winning field goal, the Vikings would be 9-7. Their game against the Packers would likely be a nationally televised late-afternoon start, with the winner stealing a playoff spot from its bitter rival and holding a chance to win the NFC North if the Bears lost to the Lions.
It’s a picture of how tantalizingly close the Vikings were to a playoff spot. Stare at that picture long enough, and the conclusions you draw might depend on your vantage point.
Could the Vikings, with a healthier offensive line and another year of development from J.J. McCarthy, rejoin the ranks of conference contenders in 2026? Or is their late-season progress made of pyrite, built on victories over other NFC also-rans and not worth trusting as an indicator they can do more with the same crew next year?
The answers their decisionmakers reach will inform the Vikings’ next moves, in what appears to be another important offseason for a regime that has won nearly two-thirds of its regular-season games but will head into Year 5 without a playoff victory.
The Vikings, who spent more than $340 million this season to surround McCarthy with veterans who were brought in to make his first starting season easier, will face salary-cap questions as they determine what to do with players such as center Ryan Kelly, right tackle Brian O’Neill and tight end T.J. Hockenson.
Brian Flores, the conductor of the defensive frenzy that has kept the Vikings in many games this season, will be a free agent if the team does not agree to a new deal with the coordinator by Jan. 14. And the plan at quarterback will again loom over the offseason, as the Vikings decide whether to bring in a veteran or remain fully invested in McCarthy as he turns 23 later this month.
Strib
They will have months to mine the 2025 season for conclusions about what went wrong, after they face the Packers with mostly intangible rewards on the line. They can choose to either be encouraged or infuriated by how close they came to ending this disjointed season in the playoffs.
“There’s certain plays you can look at within several games,” coach Kevin O’Connell said. “I’ll look first and foremost at myself. That’s managing the team, how we prepare, when we were able to handle some of the unique parts of the season well, when we were not playing , calling all those things. That’s part of what the end of the season is for, right?
‘Beautiful’ struggle for McCarthy
Any postseason forensics about the 2025 Vikings will have to begin with McCarthy, whose percentage of on-target throws (64.9) this season is the ninth-lowest of any quarterback since Sports Info Solutions began tracking the stat in 2015. He appears set to return from a hairline fracture in his right hand to start his 10th game this season, but questions about his durability and accuracy, as well as his mechanics and the pace of his decisionmaking in the Vikings’ pure progression-based system, have taken turns as the lead talking point around the team in his first season as the starter.
When McCarthy missed five games early in the season because of a high ankle sprain, the Vikings used his absence to drill the changes they wanted him to make in his footwork, stabilizing his base and curtailing things like the whipping action his back leg often makes when he follows through on a pass. Before the Vikings’ Dec. 7 game against the Commanders, though, O’Connell declared he was done focusing on McCarthy’s mechanics, telling the quarterback (who admitted he struggles with overthinking) to simply worry about making good decisions with the ball.
McCarthy posted a 129.2 passer rating in the Vikings’ 31-0 victory that day, and he has thrown five touchdowns against two interceptions in his three games since then. His on-target percentage in those games, per SIS, is 77.6 — the third-best in the league behind Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert.
The quarterback who had lost just three games as a starter since high school is 5-4 this season and scheduled to miss the postseason for the first time since before he had a driver’s license. Asked this week what it’s been like to struggle more than he ever has in his career, McCarthy said, “It’s beautiful, as messed up as it sounds.
“This is inevitable for me to get to where I’ve wanted to go ever since I was a fifth-grader. You’ve got to go through these patches. It’s an opportunity to really refine some things we were overlooking and make sure these habits and outcomes don’t happen again. But yeah, it’s beautiful, all the ups and downs.”
It seems likely the Vikings will bring in a veteran quarterback this offseason, either as a stable backup for McCarthy or genuine competition. Does the team’s most important receiver want him to start again?
“That’s not my job,” Justin Jefferson said. “Of course, I would love for him to be the quarterback, especially off of this year. I feel like he needs to show everybody and prove to everybody that he is that top-tier quarterback. But I feel like that starts in the offseason, building that connection, eliminating those habits that he had that we felt hindered him throughout the season. But he’s still young. He still has learning to do and growing to do. So that’s all part of the game. But it’s up to me to require more from him and work with him there.”
If the end-of-season run has advanced the idea the Vikings could be competitive as McCarthy develops, the first 12 games showed how little slippage they could afford around him. O’Connell acknowledged the Vikings’ “pretty razor-thin” margin for error after a 23-6 loss at Green Bay sent them to 4-7.
Their plan to fix the offensive line, which involved more than $100 million in contract commitments to Will Fries and Ryan Kelly as well as the first-round selection of Donovan Jackson, still resulted in a league-high 11.4% sack rate (according to NFL Next Gen Stats) as injuries forced the Vikings to use 25 offensive line combinations.
Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen, the team’s two pricey veteran defensive tackles, have combined for only seven sacks and 52 pressures (per SIS), while the Vikings lost midseason games to teams that realized they could run on them.
The debrief will begin in earnest after Sunday, when the Vikings chase a winning record as a consolation prize for a season they hoped would last longer. What they do next could depend on whether they view the 2025 season as a near-miss, or a costly miscalculation.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
"Chasing a winning record as a consolation prize!?" Lol. This franchise hasn't been to a Super Bowl in almost 50 years and the fanbase (most of us anyways) give no fucks about consolation prizes in the form of "winning records." The bottom line is we've been out of the playoff race since essentially Thanksgiving after grossly misevaluating the quarterback position in its entirety this offseason, and we have zero roster depth due to an incompetent front office that can't draft. Spare us your "consolation prizes" and start winning games when they matter.
Best line of that article was where KOC says he looks at himself first in terms of improving. Question remains, did he take the next step when he finally modified his offense and tendencies , Or, was it just a situational reaction to reality?
Next year is a huge evaluation year for me and I expect this team to compete for the division as well as JJM to take the next step.
If they bring in a former starter at QB to compete it tells me they don’t fully believe in JJ, which I will absolutely hate.
The D will be fine. KOC needs to prove he can get JJ where he needs to be and if that requires some restraint on his Kick ass offense then so be it.
Get your DT, S and LB in this draft and let’s go to work.
Interesting read...couple things stand out.
• "Had the Bears’ Devin Duvernay not returned a kickoff 56 yards late in the fourth quarter on Nov. 16 to set up Cairo Santos’ winning field goal, the Vikings would be 9-7. Their game against the Packers would likely be a nationally televised late-afternoon start, with the winner stealing a playoff spot from its bitter rival and holding a chance to win the NFC North if the Bears lost to the Lions."
• McCarthy's percentage of on-target throws ranked 9th lowest since 2015. However, when KOC decided to stop focusing on his mechanics, his on-target percentage rose to 77.6 — the third-best in the league behind Joe Burrow and Justin Herbert.
• Injuries forced the Vikings to use 25 offensive line combinations.
Probably the only thing all of us would agree on is un-fulfilling in 25.
Let's end this shit show of a season and move on.
I know I'm ready
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
MaroonBells wrote:
Interesting read...couple things stand out.• Injuries forced the Vikings to use 25 offensive line combinations.
Which again furthers the point I made a couple weeks ago that taking an offensive lineman with our first pick in the draft might not be the worst decision in the world. The offense clearly needs more help than the defense at this point, Kelly is a goner, Darrisaw is a question mark, and O'Neill will be 31 next September. Offensive line injuries seem to derail our seasons regularly. We could go a million different directions in the draft this year and offensive line is certainly one of them.
supafreak84 wrote:
Which again furthers the point I made a couple weeks ago that taking an offensive lineman with our first pick in the draft might not be the worst decision in the world. The offense clearly needs more help than the defense at this point, Kelly is a goner, Darrisaw is a question mark, and O'Neill will be 31 next September. Offensive line injuries seem to derail our seasons regularly. We could go a million different directions in the draft this year and offensive line is certainly one of them.
I get the religion, its an interesting thought. I think I'd have a hard time with a #1 pick on the OL though - just too many needs on the team. I'd rather that go to the D tbh. I think they got VERY LUCKY with that d backfield this year and Cashman/Wilson arent getting younger.
I'm not a draftnik, but I see quite a few DL on that GBN board right now that are probably worth taping into.
At some point the owners and players have to come together and sing kumbya on expanding rosters. Especially with an 18 game season a matter of when and not if.
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
supafreak84 wrote:
Which again furthers the point I made a couple weeks ago that taking an offensive lineman with our first pick in the draft might not be the worst decision in the world. The offense clearly needs more help than the defense at this point, Kelly is a goner, Darrisaw is a question mark, and O'Neill will be 31 next September. Offensive line injuries seem to derail our seasons regularly. We could go a million different directions in the draft this year and offensive line is certainly one of them.
Hard to see an OL in the 1st considering the Vikings have the 4th highest paid line in the NFL and just drafted one in the 1st last year.
News came out this week that the Vikings REALLY wanted Irish safety Xavier Watts in the 3rd round last year. We were at 97, Falcons traded up to 96 and took him there, so we traded back to 102 and got jumped again. This time for Saivion Jones, the DT from LSU. We took a DT later in the 5th, but after missing on Watts, we never drafted a safety at all, or even brought one in as a UDFA, so that has to be a high priority this year. Problem is, right now, Caleb Downs is the only safety worth taking in the 1st and we may not be picking high enough to land him.
Corner probably has the best value in the middle first with Delane, McCoy and AJ Terrell's brother all bunched in the middle teens.
MaroonBells wrote:
News came out this week that the Vikings REALLY wanted Irish safety Xavier Watts in the 3rd round last year. We were at 97, Falcons traded up to 96 and took him there, so we traded back to 102 and got jumped again. This time for Saivion Jones, the DT from LSU. We took a DT later in the 5th, but after missing on Watts, we never drafted a safety at all, or even brought one in as a UDFA, so that has to be a high priority this year. Problem is, right now, Caleb Downs is the only safety worth taking in the 1st and we may not be picking high enough to land him.
Watts should have never have fallen that low, he was projected to go much higher. When he fell into the 3rd, I kept hoping we would trade up for him, which if they really wanted him like it is being reported, then they should have moved up and not expected him to still be there that low. The fact they didn't draft any other safeties or CBs, makes me feel like the report is a PR move to try to pick up their awful drafting reputation.
JR44 wrote:
Watts should have never have fallen that low, he was projected to go much higher. When he fell into the 3rd, I kept hoping we would trade up for him, which if they really wanted him like it is being reported, then they should have moved up and not expected him to still be there that low. The fact they didn't draft any other safeties or CBs, makes me feel like the report is a PR move to try to pick up their awful drafting reputation.
LOL
JR44 wrote:
It is amazing how arrogant you are with your posts and that no one else can have an opinion that differs, but hey you do you.
That's why the chicks dig me.
MaroonBells wrote:
Hard to see an OL in the 1st considering the Vikings have the 4th highest paid line in the NFL and just drafted one in the 1st last year.
News came out this week that the Vikings REALLY wanted Irish safety Xavier Watts in the 3rd round last year. We were at 97, Falcons traded up to 96 and took him there, so we traded back to 102 and got jumped again. This time for Saivion Jones, the DT from LSU. We took a DT later in the 5th, but after missing on Watts, we never drafted a safety at all, or even brought one in as a UDFA, so that has to be a high priority this year. Problem is, right now, Caleb Downs is the only safety worth taking in the 1st and we may not be picking high enough to land him.
Corner probably has the best value in the middle first with Delane, McCoy and AJ Terrell's brother all bunched in the middle teens.
Kwesi being outmanuevered in the draft!? You don't say...
Downs definately will be gone when we pick. I've mentioned this before, but this article by Matt Miller highlights that there are annually only about 15 players in every draft that are truly worthy of being 1st round picks. He goes over those players for this upcoming draft. Interestingly, he has zero cornerbacks in that group. So, certainly hoping we don't "force" a cornerback in the first if the value isn't there
StickierBuns wrote:
The Draft Fan Bois always crack me up.
Ok there Zanary...
supafreak84 wrote:
Kwesi being outmanuevered in the draft!? You don't say...
Downs definately will be gone when we pick. I've mentioned this before, but this article by Matt Miller highlights that there are annually only about 15 players in every draft that are truly worthy of being 1st round picks. He goes over those players for this upcoming draft. Interestingly, he has zero cornerbacks in that group. So, certainly hoping we don't "force" a cornerback in the first if the value isn't there
A consensus ranking of 80 big boards puts the corners at 14, 15 and 20.
https://www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com/big-boards/2026/consensus-big-board-2026
MaroonBells wrote:
A consensus ranking of 80 big boards puts the corners at 14, 15 and 20.
https://www.nflmockdraftdatabase.com/big-boards/2026/consensus-big-board-2026
That lines up with most boards I'm currently seeing. The problem with this group of corners is they all have their warts and there's no consensus or alpha. There are some "in the know" that have Cisse as the #1 corner. I'm not against going corner first, but I just hope we don't draft a lesser player because of perceived need. Take the best and most impactful guy available
Zanary wrote:
...damn, rent free! So much room in here...!
When you hear words like "boi's" and other alternative sexual inuindos, you are certainly the first board member that comes to mind. I hope you've patented some of your cringy catch phrases and charge Sticky accordingly...
supafreak84 wrote:
When you hear words like "boi's" and other alternative sexual inuindos, you are certainly the first board member that comes to mind. I hope you've patented some of your cringy catch phrases and charge Sticky accordingly...
Wow, you are in a sulk! I guess expending energy to hold grudges on a football board has made you a broody-boi...! ;)
KOC, JJM, Flores...make a good plan, or you'll be following Kwesi....
Zanary wrote:
Wow, you are in a sulk! I guess expending energy to hold grudges on a football board has made you a broody-boi...! ;)
Lol nah, I enjoy ribbing you as much as you enjoy ribbing me. It's like I'm Al Bundy and you're Marcy Darcy. Keeps things entertaining
Edit Post (mod action — author will see a notice)
Warn Poster
Suspend User (3 days)
The user will be suspended for 3 days and will receive an email with the reason and information about how to appeal.