All Things 2025 Minnesota Vikings In-Season Thread

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Ogie Ogilthorpe said:
Interesting to watch tonight...

Just how well does Malik Willis play tonight (and next week if Love is unable to go)? He's a Free Agent next spring and while he seems to have some deficiencies in his game, it's hard to dispute that when he's been pressed into duty by the Packers, he's played pretty damn well.

His performance over the next few weeks could make him a decent sized contract in the offseason for someone looking for a different option at QB.
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Following up on Malik Willis; The Packers beat writer for The Athletic had a lengthy article about Willis this morning, how high LaFleur is on him and how he's progressed since he was grabbed off the scrap heap from Tennessee (where he was thrown to the wolves early).

"Count Willis’ teammates as those who believe in him, too. You can’t blame them after he’s completed 70-of-89 passes for 972 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions with a 134.6 passer rating over two seasons while running 42 times for 261 yards and three scores.

“He can make any throw on the planet,” LaFleur said. “I’d put him up against anybody.”

I think he's going to make some money this offseason. No clue where it's going to be. I was never high on Willis but he's answered the bell for the Packers when they needed him... and they have needed him at times. I don't even know that he's really that much of a dropoff from Jordan Love
 


This is why the team doesn’t quit on him; he’s a cool, relatable coach

youtube.com

"None of you guys can hoop" ð

Minnesota Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell was mic'd up during minicamp practice during the 2024 offseason programming.#MinnesotaVikings #Vikings #NFL #MN ...
youtube.com youtube.com
 

Not really worried about this kid at all. I think he'll be just fine. For the 2026 season, he'll be 23 years old, the same age that Caleb Williams and Drake Maye were this year

 



Still wild to me that people think being 22 years old means anything, in of itself.

As if they would be willing to take a 25 year old rookie who had only played college football one year, over a 22 year old 2nd year starter who played four years of college.

But McCarthy is certainly willing to lean into the excuse!
 

Also wild to me that strangulation has its own special, one-off charge.

I'm not aware of one for any other type of serious assault?
 

A very, very fine line between winning and losing in this league. Holy crap.... Basically one play from being a win on Sunday to winning the division.

 






Ope3 said:
I'm certainly concerned about his fragile health status.
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Well, there is that. Yes.

I am always really apprehensive about labeling someone "injury prone"; I think those cases are pretty rare, involve chronic type issues, lingering issues, etc. I don't think this is the case with JJM, but I will say there's a skill to keeping yourself out of harm's way and he hasn't mastered that skill yet.

It is at least a learnable skill. Let's hope there's some progress next season
 

How sad is it that it's looking like this will be one of the healthiest teams the Vikings have put on the field this year, especially if O'Neill does play....

 















It’s time to Tune up the Packers @Spaulding!No!

How these teams match up statistically​

Here is where each team ranks in 2025 in the following categories, using explosive play rate for explosiveness, success rate for efficiency and DVOA’s strength of schedule:



Off turnovers32nd3rd
Def turnovers8th26th
Off explosiveness18th2nd
Def explosiveness11th5th
Off efficiency24th7th
Def efficiency11th20th
Strength of schedule7th23rd


Predictions​

Lewis: Vikings 23, Packers 10. I don’t know how Packers quarterback Clayton Tune will manage Flores’ defense. It doesn’t seem possible. This should be a celebration and send-off for some Vikings legends, specifically Harrison and fullback C.J. Ham.

Krawczynski: Vikings 23, Packers 18. The Vikings are 7.5-point favorites! That seems wild. Yet, with Tune starting and a host of other Packers sitting out to recover from existing injuries or avoid new ones, the stage is set for Minnesota to finish this crazy season on a five-game winning streak.
 

Why Vikings' plan for J.J. McCarthy failed -- and what's next​

EAGAN, Minn. -- Vikings fans were watching warmups in December when an in-house camera began panning the crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium. It stopped at a group holding a homemade poster.

The top of the poster read: "All I want for Christmas"

On the bottom was an image of Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, whose late-season musings about his future have sparked speculation that he could change teams during the offseason.

There is no better symbol of the Vikings' season than fans wishing for a new quarterback only four months after the team installed 22-year-old J.J. McCarthy -- the talented and charismatic 2024 first-round draft pick who had the fan base swooning this summer.

www.espn.com

Why the Vikings' plan for J.J. McCarthy failed -- and what it means for 2026

What went wrong and what will Minnesota change to give McCarthy the best shot at becoming its franchise QB?
www.espn.com www.espn.com
 

I find it ironic, and borderline hilarious, that in a major role reversal, the Packers as a Wildcard team will be able to rest all of their key players this weekend while the Bears, who clearly want a rematch with the Packers in the first round as opposed to one of the NFC West teams, have to play everyone and fight to the death in order to have a chance to play the rested Packers.

Gotta love the NFL....

Vikings have moved all the way up to a 10-pt favorite in some places. I think it opened up at like 5.5 pts, but that was before any news on who either team would start at QB. If the Vikings get Clayton Tune and he plays the whole game (not that I'm worried about Ridder in any way), this game could get ugly.

Vikings 27 - Packers 13
 

It's going to be a long, tenuous offseason for the Vikings' FO if JJM drops another deuce in this game. Even if he plays well, it will mean very little to me as a fan against the Packers' reserves.
 


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