Don’t Panic, Vikings Fans — Here’s the Truth
Close your eyes and take three deep breaths. Calm your mind and focus. There’s no reason to panic; everything will be okay.
There’s nothing rational about being a sports fan. Especially when we’re talking about the Minnesota Vikings, so remember to breathe before panicking.
If there’s one thing I learned in the last five years, when I started getting closer to the U.S. side of the Vikings fandom, it is that we’re not patient. To be fair, it’s not very different here in Brazil. All we want is a Super Bowl, regardless of whether you’ve been watching since the 1960s or last year. Because of how bad we want it, how close the team has gotten in the past, and the heartbreak from the losses, calming down isn’t always easy.
We all know how last season ended. A great defense, paired with an unexpected Sam Darnold revival, led the team to a 14-2 record going to the Week 18 showdown against the Lions. Darnold’s poor performance was compounded by the offensive line’s total disaster against the Lions, and it was even worse against the Rams in the following week. Right after the Wild Card loss, O’Connell said they would improve in the interior of the offensive line, and they did just that.
With a much-improved offensive line, a running game that should also be much better, one of the best pass-catching groups in the league, and one of the best play-callers in the NFL, it’s all in J.J. McCarthy’s hands. He had a very good spring heading into his first training camp as a starter. And then he started to struggle when pads came on and people began to panic. Justin Jefferson getting sidelined due to a MINOR injury (key word here), also didn’t help.
But McCarthy isn’t going against any defense in training camp. Kirk Cousins struggled a lot against Flores’s defense in 2023, and the same was true for Sam Darnold last season. Cousins was having an MVP-caliber season before his injury, and Darnold had by far his best season as a pro. So, struggling against a Brian Flores-led defense isn’t news, and not something that happens only for Vikings quarterbacks, as we’ve seen since 2023. And the 2025 defense is arguably way better than its previous versions.
Jonathan Greenard looks like a man possessed, Dallas Turner seems to have improved a lot during the offseason, and the addition of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave made the interior pass rush much better. And this is just for the defensive line. In the backfield, the additions of Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah made the CB group faster and more agile. Plus, the defenders are way more comfortable in Year 3 under Flores, which also helps bring the new guys up to speed quicker.
The defense being ahead of the offense isn’t something to worry about. In fact, this seems to be happening around the league. McCarthy isn’t struggling at a worrisome level. There have been some ups and downs, which are expected from a young QB who missed his entire rookie season. His downs haven’t been so low, and he has had some great throws. He’s also without the best receiver in football (who, again, is dealing with a minor injury), and missing a few players in the offensive line.
Kevin O’Connell confirmed that McCarthy will play against the Texans this Saturday. It will be the first time we see the QB against another team since he tore his meniscus against the Raiders last season. In the following weeks, the team will have joint practices against the Patriots and Rams, respectively. These practices will give a clear picture of how McCarthy is looking before his first season.
He is a young QB going against one of the best defenses in the league. As Kevin O’Connell said himself, the sky has not fallen.
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