4 Burning Questions Linger for the Vikings after Bye
Minnesota Vikings fans have enjoyed a stress-free week so far, not having to worry about the team’s game this weekend or the oodles of injuries that would inevitably accompany it. The franchise, though, does have some lingering questions to answer as it exits the bye.
Like every season, the Minnesota Vikings have some rather noteworthy questions to answer after the Week 6 bye, which will begin on October 19th.
The Philadelphia Eagles are up next in Week 7, and Minnesota must answer these questions then and thereafter.
What Must the Vikings Resolve? 4 Questions.
Unanswered questions for Minnesota, with the bye week coming to a close.
4. Will the Vikings Fix Their 3rd Down Offense Troubles?
Guess what? Kevin O’Connell’s usually sturdy offense ranks second-to-last in the NFL per 3rd Down conversion percentage. That’s terrible. Absolutely horrifying for a team with postseason aspirations.
These are the league’s worst teams at converting offensive 3rd Downs:
- Tennessee Titans: 28.9%
- Minnesota Vikings: 31.0%
- New York Giants: 32.3%
- Washington Commanders: 32.6%
- Cleveland Browns: 34.2%
- New York Jets: 34.4%
- Houston Texans: 35.0%
- Cincinnati Bengals: 36.0%
Yes, that’s the league’s bottom-feeders — plus Minnesota and Washington.
Something’s gotta give in fixing the 3rd Down offense. Otherwise, no playoff trip will occur for the 2025 purple team.
3. Will the Injury Plague Stabilize by Thanksgiving or So?
To date this season — it’s about one month old — the Vikings have navigated injuries to Christian Darrisaw, Andrew Van Ginkel, Harrison Smith, Ryan Kelly, Donovan Jackson, Aaron Jones, J.J. McCarthy, Blake Cashman, Rondale Moore, and C.J. Ham.
So, yes, like 50% of the starting lineup on offense and defense.
The team even found a way to win in London over the Cleveland Browns last weekend without seven starters.
The good news? Most of the players listed above, besides Rondale Moore, should begin to trickle back into the lineup. Will fans see a mostly healthy team by mid-November or so? Or will this campaign just be totally undone by a comical amount of injuries?
NFL writer Trevor Squire noted on the team’s injuries this week, “The Vikings have struggled to keep players healthy this season. Christian Darrisaw had to play on a pitch count in Week 5 against the Cleveland Browns, which found Minnesota without its star left tackle while needing to mount a fourth-quarter comeback.”
“Starting center Ryan Kelly was placed on injured reserve after suffering a second concussion in three weeks this season. He is not eligible to return until Week 10 at the earliest. Right tackle Brian O’Neill is week-to-week with an MCL injury; however, the Vikings not placing him on injured reserve assumes that this is a short-term injury that won’t see him miss much more time. But the clock is ticking for McCarthy.”
Generally speaking, it’s been difficult to determine the Vikings’ ceiling in 2025 with so many injuries. The skeleton crew appears to be an 8-9 or 9-8 club, at best.
“The Vikings need to gain a sense of what they have in the young quarterback this season — but trotting him out behind a patchwork offensive line is not going to offer much clarity on his potential if he doesn’t have the time to progress or is flushed from the pocket,” Squire added.
“Kevin O’Connell adjusted his playcalling to suit Carson Wentz and an offensive line missing its top four linemen last week, adopting more quick-play throws. That should be the prescription for McCarthy early in his return to action.”
2. Will the Vikings Reach the Postseason?
Aside from J.J. McCarthy, a great unknown for NFL media and Vikings fans, Minnesota’s depth chart appears to have enough talent for a postseason forecast. At 3-2 through five games, that prognosis remains fair, but the murderous part of the schedule lies ahead.
In the next 12 games, the Vikings basically must finish 7-5 to reach the playoff tournament. Will that occur, or is this “one of those seasons” where they finish around 7-10 or 8-9, never quite bottoming out, but also not playing in mid-January?
1. Will J.J. McCarthy Look the Part as He Develops?
In Week 1, J.J. McCarthy played poorly for three quarters before completely flipping that performance on its head to help Minnesota mount a successful comeback and later win the NFC’s Offensive Player of the Week award.
Life was good.
The following week, McCarthy fired up an abysmal three quarters — followed by an abysmal 4th Quarter, too. For some reason, according to some Vikings fans, the second game meant more than the NFC Offensive Player of the Week showing, and McCarthy is unfortunately a bust.
For those who use common sense, McCarthy’s return to the lineup soon will be all about his development. One bad game in Week 2 was unfortunate, but it is not a first-of-its-kind experience in NFL history. It happens.
McCarthy’s durability is a concern, and once he returns to the huddle, he must stay healthy and mature on the fly without an embarrassing setback. Can he do it?
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