With the NFL schedule now out, everyone is starting to offer up their win-loss predictions for every team around the league.
Moe Moton of Bleacher Report recently published his best guess at how the season will go. The Vikings will be one of the tougher teams to guess in 2025 as they lose their starting quarterback but arguably move to a better option. That is not often the case for a team that is 14-3, but this is a unique case study for everyone who studies and watches the NFL.
Moton writes, “The Vikings have the supporting cast to prop up a young quarterback, and their defense can help them win low-scoring games, but this team will regress with a first-year starter under center, perhaps more than most would expect after a 14-win campaign. On the road, McCarthy will face stout defenses within the NFC North and in Pittsburgh, Seattle and Los Angeles. Chargers lead skipper Jim Harbaugh coached him at Michigan and knows his weaknesses.”
Moton then ends with the line that every Vikings fan does not want to hear about their beloved Minnesota football team.
“The Vikings come back to earth and drop out of the playoff picture in 2025.”
He projects them to finish the season with an 8-9 record, which would have them missing the playoffs altogether, which is possible, sure. It is hard to believe, though, that a team could go 14-3 with Sam Darnold, but win six fewer games with J.J. McCarthy after returning most of the roster, especially while adding pieces to an already dominant defense.
Time will tell.