We’ll always have the fourth quarter of Week 1.
First and foremost, happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the DN family. It’s a time to be grateful for the things that truly matter in life: family, friends, health, and happiness.
It’s also a helpful distraction from the fact that the 2025 Vikings are the equivalent of Clark Griswold’s turkey. They’ve now lost five of their last six games, and a 5-12 or 6-11 record isn’t out of the question. We have to accept that we might face the worst-case scenario, which could not only hurt this season but also threaten the franchise’s future. More on that in a moment.
MCCARTHY, YES, BUT…
I’m not going to sit here and pile on J.J. McCarthy. If that’s what you want, there are plenty of other places to look. The facts are the facts. It’s been historically ugly. If you’re a masochist, you can watch Colin Cowherd pat himself on the back for the one solid take he has every year. The fourth quarter of the first Bears game and the first quarter of the Lions contest now seem like anomalies amid a wealth of head-scratching regression.
After six games, I was monumentally wrong. Everything that I’ve written about McCarthy in this space has been way off. I’m genuinely at a loss because I felt it was coming from a good place. Not in a psychologically biased, purple-neurons activating to convince me that is down, left is right, or that Christian Ponder was the next Drew Brees way, but based on objective and rational reasoning. The story isn’t over, and I still believe, but we can only go by what we know—and right now, what we know is very bad.
That said, they’re team losses for a reason. McCarthy dominates the discussion online and across social media, but this Vikings team has underperformed everywhere. Christopher Gates noted it here, as did Alec Lewis of The Athletic.
Kurt Warner did an excellent breakdown of Sunday’s disaster here. It’s a bit lengthy, but definitely worth watching. It emphasizes that multiple things can be true at once: Yes, McCarthy is struggling a lot, but KOC’s route concepts aren’t helping him either. KOC’s strict adherence to his scheme and the (correct/predictable) assumptions about McCarthy’s primary reads played right into Packers’ D-coordinator Jeff Hafley’s hands.
The Packers game was a perfect reflection of many issues that have troubled the Vikings all season.
The offensive line has been a work in progress all year. Yes, injuries have played a role, but there have been too many uncharacteristically poor performances from starters to dismiss it easily. We had all five starters go for the first time this year – and Micah Parsons just got another pressure.
While the defense has played well enough to win games since the Chargers debacle, it has regressed by any objective measure. I know some of this is due to fatigue caused by an offense that can’t stay on the field, but they’re far from blameless. Tackling and yards-after-contact remain persistent issues. We continue to struggle against the run. I’ve lost track of the 3rd-and-10+ conversions we’ve allowed. Turning pressures into sacks has been frustratingly absent. Turnovers have also dried up.
Special teams? Not what I’d call it. Other than Will Reichard, it’s been a story of missed assignments, seemingly endless penalties that kill field position, and a collection of other inopportune errors.
When it’s Thanksgiving and your kicker is the team MVP, that’s a clear sign your ship is taking on water – quickly.
WHERE WE GO FROM HERE
As of this writing, McCarthy has entered the concussion protocol and is a huge question mark for the Seahawks game. Cue the conspiracy theories. What’s clear is his inability to stay on the field, which is reaching crisis levels.
Regardless, it’s probably Max Brosmer time. We’ll see if the Brock Purdy comparisons are accurate. I hope so, but then again, we are the Vikings. I’m a fan of Brosmer, but I’m setting my expectations at zero. I’ve been burned too many times. Sure, he had a strong preseason, but we salivated for a year over McCarthy’s preseason performance, too.
My completely inexperienced, Madden coach, Average Joe fan’s take? If McCarthy clears protocol and starts, you get to see what he can do against the Seahawks, Commanders, Cowboys, and Giants games. If real improvement shows up, great. It offers some hope for 2026. You still sign a legit veteran insurance policy, but at least there’s a hint of optimism. If more of the same from the past three weeks happens, then it’s Brosmer for the final two games of the season. See what you have there. Factor that into the offseason plan accordingly.
If Brosmer starts against the Seahawks and performs well, he must keep starting. Even if he’s just average, you owe it to the team to keep him out there, as that would still be a significant improvement. Average performance helped us win the Browns game and could have led to victories against the Eagles, Ravens, and Bears as well. The goal is to win games—period. I could go on a whole rant about why tanking doesn’t occur in the NFL, but that’s a topic for another time. If Brosmer bombs, well, then you’ll know. Back to McCarthy, and that angle is officially put to bed.
THE 2026 OFFSEASON WILL BE MESSY
Either way, this offseason is going to be…interesting. That’s the best way to describe it. Spotrac estimates the Vikings are about $24 million over the projected 2026 salary cap. Only the Cowboys and Chiefs are in worse shape. Closing the gap is less intimidating than it seems on paper, but the Vikings being a major player in free agency is unlikely. I wouldn’t be surprised if a notable veteran or two end up cap casualties. They currently have eight picks in the 2026 draft, but, yeah, we know how that’s gone so far.
I wouldn’t be surprised if any of the following were starting for us in Week 1 of next year: McCarthy, Rodgers, Flacco, (Mac) Jones, or even…Brosmer (?!). That’s how uncertain the situation appears. The Colts will definitely lock in Daniel Jones, even if it means franchise tagging him. Even Kyler Murray and, yes, Kirk Cousins, could be in play if they’re cut. The Falcons can apparently save $22 million next season by moving on from Cousins, with the manageable dead cap spread out over multiple seasons. Cousins 2.0? The DN threads will be lit at least.
Brian Flores is not under contract for 2026, and I would be stunned if he doesn’t move on to another, well-earned head coaching role (finally) or some other defensive position elsewhere. He transformed a laughingstock unit from 2020-2022 into a Top 5 defense in 2024. Yes, there’s been some regression this season, but overall, it’s still good enough to possibly have us at 7-4, with a modicum of competent offensive production. I wouldn’t blame him at all if he doesn’t want to stick around for the McCarthy roller coaster of uncertainty. Turnaround in other coordinator/position coaches is also likely on the horizon.
Goodwill exists, and it matters. KAM and KOC gained significant goodwill with their 34-17 start and two playoff appearances in three seasons. That said, a 5-7 win season would be an outright disaster given the expectations, and it would erase much of the house money they’ve accumulated. As a Vikings fan, you can become numb to these things, but for me, this ranks as the most disappointing season since 2010. And unless Max Brosmer sparks a Kurt Warner 1999-like magic carpet ride of wondrous offensive pleasure, 2025 will mark the 16th straight season without back-to-back playoff appearances. Yuck. Simply put, 2026 must be a playoff year. Otherwise, talk about seats and temperature becomes very real.
SALT, MEET WOUNDS IN SEATTLE
In typical Vikings fashion, when it rains, it’s a Category 5 hurricane. Not only are we dealing with the McCarthy drama and likely a sunken season, but we now have to travel to Seattle to face our old pal Sam Darnold, who is living the dream. I’ll wait until the playoffs to declare Darnold finally free from seeing ghosts, but there’s no question he’s having an outstanding season (recent Rams implosion aside). He’s led the Seahawks to an 8-3 record and almost certainly to the playoffs. Good for him.
Maybe I should stop criticizing blowhard Colin Cowherd for his atrocious takes, since I’ve been collecting my own like kids do Pokémon cards this season. The latest? Back in May, when predicting the 2025 season, I said this about the Week 13 matchup in Seattle:
Week 13: @Seattle Seahawks: I like Sam Darnold and will fondly remember the terrific (regular) season he had in Minnesota. I wish him all the best. Then again, I wish I could play the guitar like Eddie Van Halen, too. Doesn’t mean it will happen. Sadly, I think Seattle will have a rough go of it in 2025, and that Darnold will struggle mightily without KOC, Jefferson, Addison, et al. This one should be a win, with Darnold looking more like the late-season Lions/Rams version than the earlier season “WTF is this!?” form.
Minnesota Vikings: 31
Seattle Seahawks: 10
There’s terrible, and then there’s whatever that was. Oof. Sorry about that, Sam.
Watching Darnold light us up will be the most Vikings thing possible. And since that is synonymous with pain and suffering, it’s therefore the most likely outcome.
Let’s try the reverse psychology thing again, shall we?
Seahawks: 28
Vikings: 14
Pass the sweet potatoes and be thankful we’re not the New York Jets or Cleveland Browns, I suppose.
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