The 2025 NFL season will officially come to an end for the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday afternoon, as they’ll host their division rivals, the Green Bay Packers.
Green Bay won the first game of the annual home-and-home series this season at Lambeau Field by a score of 23-6 in what was an abysmal all-around performance by the Vikings. This time around, the Packers are locked into the #7 seed in the NFC playoffs while the Vikings are out of playoff contention, but the home team does come into this one riding a four-game winning streak and looking at a chance to finish above .500 for the third time in four years under head coach Kevin O’Connell.
There’s some mystery as to whether or not Vikings’ quarterback J.J. McCarthy will be able to start this one or not. McCarthy injured his throwing hand late in the first half of Minnesota’s win over the New York Giants in Week 16 and missed the Week 17 victory over Detroit, but the team seems to be hoping that they can get their young quarterback out there for the season finale. The team will also be trying to get Justin Jefferson into the record books, as he needs 53 yards to become the third player in NFL history to have 1,000 yards receiving in each of his first six NFL seasons, joining former Vikings great Randy Moss and Tampa Bay Buccaneers star Mike Evans.
The Packers don’t have a whole lot to play for in this one, and it wouldn’t be surprising to see them rest some of their more important players in this contest in an effort to get healthy for their trip to either Chicago or Philadelphia on Wild Card Weekend. Starting quarterback Jordan Love missed the Packers’ Week 17 game against Baltimore with a concussion, and his backup, Malik Willis, exited that game with a shoulder injury. The folks who make the betting lines seem to think the Packers will be resting some players, too, as the Vikings currently sit as a 7.5-point favorite going into Sunday’s game.
This could also be the final game for Vikings great Harrison Smith. Smith, who was named the NFC’s Defensive Player of the Week for his performance against the Lions in Week 17, is the longest-tenured member of the Vikings, having been with the team since they drafted him in the first round of the 2012 NFL Draft, and has appeared in 214 career games for the Vikings (206 regular season, 8 playoff). The rumors are swirling, and will likely continue to swirl, but there’s at least a chance that this could be the swan song for one of the best to ever wear the purple and gold.
Kickoff for this game is slated for noon Central time, and will be carried by the CBS family of networks, including WCCO-4 in the Twin Cities. We’ll have all of our coverage of this week’s game in this stream for you, so keep checking back for the latest.
