NFL Pundit Says Vikings Will Win It All

Feb 7, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kay Adams on the Up & Adams set on Radio Row at the Super Bowl LIX media center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.

Judging by most of the articles I’ve seen about the Vikings’ chances this year, not many expect them to win as many games as last year. The last I saw was a line projection of 8.5 wins after a 14-win season in 2024.

No one, and I mean no one, has even suggested that the Vikings will have a sniff at the Super Bowl. That ended today with one prominent sports personality saying Minnesota will win the Big Game this season.

NFL Pundit Says Vikings Will Win It All

Kay Adams was entertaining Chris Simms on her show Up & Adams on Monday, and they were discussing the 2024 1st round drafted quarterbacks and who could “make the biggest leap?”

Simms offered his guess, “We haven’t seen J.J. McCarthy, but he’s obviously in a spot to succeed there with that coach and that talent, and the Vikings are in the Super Bowl window. But if you ask me, the biggest jumps from year one to year two? I think it’s Caleb Williams and Drake Maye would be the two that I’d look at.”

Feb 7, 2025; New Orleans, LA, USA; Kay Adams on the Up & Adams set on Radio Row at the Super Bowl LIX media center. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.

He cited the new offensive coaches they would be gaining this season and the added talent around them. Simms rightfully continued questioning the Vikings’ chances because McCarthy was the only one out of the group who didn’t play at all last year.

That’s when Adams piped in, saying, “I think they’re going to win the Super Bowl”, with a bright smile on her face while Simms was still finishing his thoughts.

Wait, what?

No one is supposed to say that about the Vikings. Fans always rely on the fact that the team will be ignored and doubted until they win a bunch of games in a season to prove most prognosticators wrong. This is the way of things! It’s like Mandalorians not removing their helmets! Simms followed her comment: “J.J. McCarthy, he doesn’t even have to play A+ football. If he can just play B+ football, they’ll have a chance. I’m excited to see that…”

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Jan 21, 2023; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; CBS Sports announcer Chris Simms on field prior to an AFC divisional round game between the Kansas City Chiefs and Jacksonville Jaguars at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Denny Medley-USA TODAY Sports.

Adams agreed that McCarthy was the QB with the biggest question mark and then clarified her reason to believe, “…And then I met him, and I like, just like a total fan, just fell for him. I met him … at the NFLPA Classic, and I go ‘Oh, you are a winner.’ And just how Case (Keenum) was talking about him, how Harrison (Smith) was talking about him, the OGs … (Adam) Thielen! The way he was speaking to me. I bought every stock! I was like. ‘Yep, eating it for breakfast. Absolutely!”

High praise for the young man, not just from Kay but from the guys who have been in the game a long time.

Simms agreed with her assessment: “He made the same impression on me the first time I met him at Michigan, too. I was like, ‘He’s a franchise quarterback.'”

Simms also endorsed McCarthy by joking that he was going to tell his daughter to dump her boyfriend and date McCarthy instead.

You can see the entire exchange here.

Of course, the Internet went off on her a bit, questioning her thinking. Adams is no shrinking violet, and she came right back with well-reasoned responses. When challenged by a poster on X (formerly Twitter), “Their QB who literally hasn’t played a single snap of NFL football…”, adeptly answered with, “Seeing a lot of this. They coulda brought in a guy who’s played a lot of snaps. Window, now. No excuses.”

Another inquired, “Window now? Why exactly? Curious as to that reasoning.” To which Adams responded, “great offensive mind, cast on offense, Jefferson in his prime, rebuilt OL, aggressive defense ..What are we doing??”

Another doubter said they didn’t understand “the hype”. Kay once again stood her ground posing the question as to why they didn’t they sign Aaron Rodgers, “14 wins. Is jj an upgrade? If he’s not, why isn’t ar the qb?”

Whether or not Adams is right in her feelings, seeing someone crawl out on that limb regardless of its tentative strength is refreshing. She’s not doing it to get clicks or be contrarian for the sake of it. She sees what many of the fans see in that the Vikings have the talent on both sides of the ball to succeed. The only question – and again it is always valid is whether J.J. McCarthy is “the guy” to take the Vikings back to the Super Bowl for the first time in 51 years.

Jan 25, 2025; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Minnesota quarterback J.J. McCarthy reacts during the action while attending the game between the Minnesota Timberwolves and the Denver Nuggets at Target Center. Mandatory Credit: Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images.

So many people outside the organization feel the good vibes from McCarthy, which solidifies what Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and Kevin O’Connell have been saying about him. It quiets the feeling that we’re just getting lip service from the team, showing they support the young player. It silences everyone who thought the Vikings should have signed Aaron Rodgers as the only solution.

We all hope Kay is right with her prediction and that the prolonged drought finally ends, riding on the arm of our young quarterback playing on a very talented team.