Everything for the Vikings Rides on the Next 3 Weeks
The Minnesota Vikings, battling a litany of injuries, must soul-search this week and resume winning games as early as this Sunday — or risk a lost season.
The Minnesota Vikings have three quasi-winnable games afoot, and based on the schedule, the 2025 season hangs in the balance.
That warning, of course, sounds doomsdayist, but a quick peek at the team’s schedule in 2025 mandates that the time is now to stack wins.
There’s just no other way around it.
Vikings Must Go 2-1 in Next 3 Games
The season is on the line already for Minnesota.
Next 3 Games = Winnable for Vikings
Compared to the rest of the NFL, Minnesota’s next three games are winnable — very winnable. The task feels daunting at the moment because of so many Vikings injuries, stacked on poor quarterback performance, but none of that matters if Kevin O’Connell and friends wish to keep this campaign relevant.
Unlike mid-October and beyond, the purple team’s next three games provide possible dubs if the team can find a way to rally.
Here’s where the following three opponents rank per overall team DVOA after Week 2:
- Cincinnati Bengals: 16th
- Cleveland Browns: 31st
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 25th
That is not a difficult gauntlet, and the Bengals, ranked 16th per DVOA, won’t even feature their elite quarterback Joe Burrow, who’s on the shelf with a bad toe for the next three months.
Minnesota must exit the impending three-game stretch with at least two wins.
A Recipe for Slaughter After That
Thereafter, in the month proceeding the upcoming “easy stretch,” everything changes. The relative cakewalk is toast.
Here’s the docket after Minnesota’s Week 6 bye per team DVOA:
- Philadelphia Eagles: 12th
- Los Angeles Chargers: 3rd
- Detroit Lions: 9th
- Baltimore Ravens: 4th
None of those games will be easy, and based on how Minnesota played last weekend, the showdowns feel unwinnable as of September 17th. Therefore, as a cushion, assuming Minnesota is a lock to lose most of the Week 7-10 contests, the Vikings must stack dubs against the Bengals, Browns, and Steelers.
Breaking even with the Eagles, Chargers, Lions, and Ravens would be a marvel, if not a mini-miracle.
Very Few Easy Games in November or December
Guess who’s the No. 1 team in the world per DVOA? The Green Bay Packers. Guess how many times Minnesota will play Green Bay this season? Twice.
In addition to two games against the Packers and after the Ravens meeting, the Vikings play the Seattle Seahawks, Washington Commanders, Dallas Cowboys, and Lions one more time.
In short, the brutal schedule that fans noticed when the NFL released the docket in May will come home to roost.
All … with QB Uncertainty
So, the mission is simple: find wins inside the less difficult section of the schedule to prepare for inevitable hardships against the league’s best teams.
Execution may be a problem.
J.J. McCarthy has not played well in seven of eight eligible quarters to start the season, and now he’s on the shelf for a week, two, or three with a bad ankle. Winning games against the CIN, PIT, and CLE would’ve been tricky with McCarthy anyway, but now the club will switch to Carson Wentz for Week 3.
That’s right: the Vikings must eek out wins in the next three weeks with the journeyman, Wentz, while hoping that McCarthy simply “figures it out” when he returns.
Two other passers are in Minnesota’s roster orbit: undrafted free-agent rookie Max Brosmer, from the University of Minnesota, and recently-signed vet, Desmond Ridder.
More Context on the Vikings’ Schedule
Our Ted Schwerzler opined on the schedule this week: “Sure, the Minnesota Vikings won’t have J.J. McCarthy, but Carson Wentz has won plenty in this league and may even represent a better chance to win now, than the redshirt rookie, who has struggled to keep his head above water during his first two NFL games.”
“Wentz has been in the building for weeks now, and he will have had ample time to prepare for O’Connell’s offense. He possesses similar athleticism to McCarthy and can move in the pocket. Ideally though, the offensive line returns to a near-clean bill of health and is able to provide him significant protection.”
In short, it’s go-time for the Vikings.
“The Browns are still the same old Browns and probably always be; former Vikings OC Kevin Stefanski has found out the hard way. Joe Flacco was benched last week, in a 41-17 drubbing by the Baltimore Ravens. Now, rookie Dillon Gabriel could be the guy in London,” Schwerzler added.
“No matter their QB, these are some of the more winnable games on Minnesota’s schedule this entire season. After the impending three-game stretch, the Minnesota Vikings get to their bye. An early bye week certainly wasn’t ideal when the schedule came out, but it may not hit at a better time for Kevin O’Connell’s team.”
A simple rule of thumb? Minnesota must win two of the next three games to keep the season afloat and relevant.
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