Vikings Evidently Have a Nightmare Scenario for 2025
Minnesota Vikings fans wait in intense anticipation for the 2025 campaign, one of the most exciting times to follow the team, arguably since the summer of 2018, somewhere in 2009, or the lead-up to 2010. Take your pick.
CBS Sports weighed in on a worst-case outcome for the Vikings in 2025. Of course, the team will hope to avoid it at all costs.
Why is the excitement palpable? Simple — the franchise will roll with J.J. McCarthy at quarterback, the big prize for the future to pursue a Super Bowl with a young passer on an affordable contract.
It’s quite the change of pace from the Kirk Cousins era, which showcased the opposite.
But according to CBS Sports, Minnesota faces a worst-case scenario: McCarthy basically unprepared for the QB1 nomination.
The Vikings’ Nightmare to Avoid
CBS Sports Explains Nightmare Scenario for Vikings
Cody Benjamin uplifted a best- and worst-case scenario for each NFL team last week, and for the Vikings, that was McCarthy’s would-be struggles.
He wrote, “Worst-case scenario: McCarthy is swallowed up by both a tough schedule and inflated expectations, at some point even prompting Sam Howell to enter under center, and Vikings fans are somehow forced to lament Sam Darnold’s exit.”
While Howell is a competent backup quarterback — maybe a Top 10 QB2 in the business — McCarthy would have to play like a total moron for head coach Kevin O’Connell to bench him. O’Connell isn’t the type of skipper to mail it in on a quarterback after a rocky start to one’s career.
What about the Best-Case Scenario?
There’s also the rosy aspect.
Benjamin defined Minnesota’s best-case scenario: “Best-case scenario: Kevin O’Connell gets instant results from J.J. McCarthy, who plays point guard for Justin Jefferson and the rest of their elite group, and Minnesota survives a brutal slate to make a second straight postseason bid.”
To which fans reply, “Yes, please.”
J.J. McCarthy Should Be in Good Hands with Kevin O’Connell
O’Connell had two years to plot his course at the most critical position in sports, empowering the aforementioned Cousins to some of the best ball of his career, whisking Joshua Dobbs to temporary glory, and propelling Sam Darnold to a 14-win season in 2024.
When it was time for O’Connell to pick his quarterback of the future, he chose McCarthy. In the backdrop, O’Connell is considered by his peers, players, fans, and the media as a “quarterback whisperer.” In that regard, it’s severely unlikely that the quarterback guru picked the wrong guy to lead his franchise and determine his job security.
If so, CBS Sports‘ nightmare scenario just doesn’t seem probable. Stay tuned.
Oddsmakers Live in the Middle
Sportsbooks, on the other hand, believe Minnesota will live somewhere in the middle of best- and worst-case scenarios, predicting eight or nine wins for O’Connell in 2025, with McCarthy at the helm.
It’s the same win forecast that Vegas has assigned to the Chicago Bears, Denver Broncos, Arizona Cardinals, Pittsburgh Steelers, and Seattle Seahawks. Oddsmakers assert that Minnesota will be a decent team, not a great one.
They also claimed at this time last year that Minnesota would win six or seven contests — and O’Connell later posted a fancy 14-3 record.
Other NFC North Nightmares
On the Green Bay Packers’ nightmare scenario, Benjamin opined, “Worst-case scenario: Love can’t contain his inner Brett Favre, forfeiting the rock to frustrate LaFleur, and the youthful receiving corps remains too mercurial to go deep in January as the Packers barely miss the playoffs in the tough North.”
What about the Chicago Bears? “Worst-case scenario: No amount of veteran blockers and weapons can keep Williams on schedule against a tough schedule; the former No. 1 pick proves a dangerous caretaker of both the ball and his body as the Bears finish last again,” Benjamin explained.
And on the Detroit Lions, “Worst-case scenario: Goff can’t shake the sour end to 2024 behind a shuffled front and without coordinator Ben Johnson, and Campbell’s aura isn’t enough to outlast a tough schedule in the NFC North; they dip to wild-card territory.”
Vegas believes the NFC North will play out in this way:
- Lions
- Packers
- Vikings
- Bears
It’s up to Minnesota to prove them wrong — again.
You must be logged in to post a comment.