The Purple Returns—Preview Vikes-Bears on MNF in Chicago
Vikings Territory Breakdown
The NFL is back! The long offseason is over, and the league returns to competition on Thursday Night Football. Unfortunately, fans of the Minnesota Vikings will have to wait a bit longer, as their favorite team travels to Chicago to play in the Bears in the first Monday Night Football game of the 2025 season. It is, perhaps, the most consequential Vikings season in years, and we of Purple Nation will have to remain patient to see the first pass attempt of the Vikings’ new quarterback, J.J. McCarthy.
McCarthy represents the hopes and dreams of the Purple Faithful—as many would suggest, as he goes, so goes the Vikings. But the organization’s personnel department principles of GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, head coach Kevin O’Connell and defensive coordinator Brian Flores have amassed a very good roster around McCarthy, and fans are very excited to see them perform, as well. In fact, it was suggested on the Colin Cowherd podcast that the case could be made the Vikings have the league’s second-best roster (after Philadelphia).
McCarthy will be surrounded on offense by a new offensive line, is joined in the backfield by Jordan Mason and Aaron Jones, and a healthy T.J. Hockenson fortifies the pass-catching crew of Justin Jefferson and Jordan Addison (in game four) to give the second-year Viking signal caller plenty of assistance in the first season as a starting NFL quarterback.
Meanwhile, Flores, in his third season as DC, has assembled a beefed-up front seven on defense (with the major additions of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrove on the defensive line) plus a solid group in the secondary with Byron Murphy, Isaiah Rodgers and Jeff Okudah at cornerback. The player flexibility throughout the unit, plus the depth on the defensive line, should make for a much-improved Vikings defense this season.
At this writing, however, all those hopes, dreams and expectations are still on paper. On Monday night we’ll see how the 2025 Vikings actually perform in the Windy City. So, in the interim, we shall speculate. To that end, the co-hosts of Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast (Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig, NFL and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune and startribune.com), return for another season of Purple speculation, analysis and prognostication. Why not tune in and see how soon their Vikings season record and season-long game predictions go off the rails. Skol!
