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(Photo by Stephen Maturen\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n
The Detroit Lions<\/a> and Minnesota Vikings<\/a> missed the playoffs in the 2025 NFL season after reaching the playoffs the previous campaign. As a result, heading into the 2026 NFL<\/a> season, both teams are looking for bounce-back years. <\/p>\n Nonetheless, during a segment on the April 3 edition of \u201cPro Football Talk Live,\u201d<\/a> NBC Sports NFL insider Mike Florio picked both the Lions head coach, Dan Campbell, and the Vikings head coach, Kevin O\u2019Connell, as the two people facing the most pressure in the NFC North of the four coaches. <\/p>\n \u201cLet\u2019s just say it\u2019s 6-11,\u201d Florio said. \u201cThe Lions or the Vikings [finish the 2026 season at] 6-11. Next year [becomes] a \u2018better turn this around now,\u2019 and that applies to both of them.\u201d<\/p>\n When it comes to the Vikings, their success this upcoming season will be determined by their situation under center as they determine who will be leading them through a QB battle. <\/p>\n Over the offseason, the Vikings signed Kyler Murray and re-signed Carson Wentz, and with\u00a0J.J. McCarthy<\/a> still there, Minnesota hopes the play under center doesn\u2019t prevent them from reaching the playoffs.<\/p>\n NFL Insider Gives Update on Vikings\u2019 QB Battle<\/p>\n After seeing\u00a0Sam Darnold<\/a>\u00a0win Super Bowl LX with the\u00a0Seattle Seahawks<\/a>\u00a0and the QB\u2019s disappointing play during the 2025 NFL season, head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell and the team\u2019s front office are taking a different approach.<\/p>\n On April 3,\u00a0NBC Sports NFL insider Mike Florio shared<\/a>\u00a0the latest on the team\u2019s QB competition and what part will determine who wins the battle.<\/p>\n \u201cCoach Kevin O\u2019Connell explained during a recent visit with\u00a0PFT Live\u00a0that, eventually, there will be a clear delineation of positions on the depth chart,\u201d Florio wrote.<\/p>\n \u201cThe real question is when. He didn\u2019t rule out the possibility of determining the starter entering training camp. That seems unlikely, however. The competition will likely commence during preseason practices and games.\u201d<\/p>\n Moreover, despite having Wentz back in the fold, Florio notes that the competition is strictly between Murray and McCarthy.<\/p>\n \u201cIt will come down, undoubtedly, to Kyler Murray or J.J. McCarthy,\u201d Florio added. \u201cO\u2019Connell explained that he has no concern about McCarthy becoming disenchanted if he doesn\u2019t win the job.<\/p>\n \u201cThe best news for the Vikings is that, however it plays out, they\u2019ll have a solid No. 2 and (if Carson Wentz makes the final 53) a third-stringer who can win games if need be.\u201d<\/p>\n Minnesota Shares J.J. McCarthy Update Ahead of QB Battle<\/p>\n After a rollercoaster 2025 season, the Vikings are forcing McCarthy to earn the job, and Kevin Seifert of ESPN shared what head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell said regarding the latest on the young QB\u2019s efforts to do just that.<\/p>\n \u201cKevin O\u2019Connell said that J.J. McCarthy is back in Minnesota after spending the early part of the offseason training in California, and has been in the building most days working out in the weight room,\u201d\u00a0Seifert wrote on March 30 on X<\/a>.<\/p>\n McCarthy posted a 61.8 overall PFF grade<\/a> during the 2025 season, ranking 35th among 43 qualified quarterbacks. His passing grade was 60.1, ranking 35th at the position.<\/p>\n Across 1,632 snaps played and 291 dropbacks, he totaled 1,632 passing yards with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. He mixed in 19 big-time throws but was also charged with 15 turnover-worthy plays.<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tEduardo Razo<\/a> Eduardo Razo is a sports writer for Heavy.com, covering the NFL, MLB, and college football. He has previously covered the NFL, NBA, NHL, and MLB for NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Bay Area & California, and has freelanced for PSG Talk, covering Paris Saint-Germain. He also worked as an editor at Athlon Sports, focusing on MLB and the NFL. More about Eduardo Razo<\/a>\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\tMore Heavy on Vikings\n\t\t<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\tLoading more stories\n\t\t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Getty (Photo by Stephen Maturen\/Getty Images) The Detroit Lions and Minnesota Vikings missed the playoffs in the 2025…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":854687,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[7,233,259,2529,6,234],"class_list":{"0":"post-854686","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-minnesota-vikings","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-minnesota","10":"tag-minnesota-vikings","11":"tag-minnesotavikings","12":"tag-nfl","13":"tag-vikings"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116350655081161661","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854686","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=854686"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/854686\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/854687"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=854686"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=854686"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=854686"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}