The 5 Things the Vikings Can’t Afford to Screw Up
The Minnesota Vikings will hope to improve on or maintain their 14-3 season from 2024, led by quarterback Sam Darnold, who now works for the Seattle Seahawks.
From J.J. McCarthy’s maturation to fixing the run game and even winning a playoff contest, these are five things the Vikings absolutely can’t afford to mess up in 2025.
The Vikings spent the recent offseason building the offensive and defensive trenches, promoting J.J. McCarthy to QB1, and adding speed merchants like Rondale Moore, Isaiah Rodgers, and Tai Felton.
Fans have grand expectations for 2025, so these are five things the Vikings can’t afford to bungle this season.
5. Defensive Regression
Kicking off the list — this probably won’t happen. There’s no reason to believe that Brian Flores’ second-ranked defense from 2024 will play poorly in 2025. In fact, the club added interior defensive line reinforcements — beef — in the form of Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave. The group could be better.
However, repeating second-best-in-the-NFL anything is tricky from year to year, so if Flores’ men take a step back, it can’t be egregious. The Vikings’ defense must remain in the Top 10 per efficiency, considering this coach and these players.
PurplePTSD.com‘s Brevan Bane wrote about the defense last week, “The 2025 Vikings’ defense is set up pretty similarly to the 2017 team; a very scary defensive line from edge to edge, decent quality at the roaming linebacker positions, one really good CB with an average supporting cast, one safety that’s really just asked not to let anything happen deep downfield, and of course, Harrison Smith.”
“They also employ a masterful defensive mind still in his prime in Brian Flores, much like Mike Zimmer was in 2017.”
4. Busts from the 2024 or 2025 Rookie Draft Class
Minnesota is just getting over the pain of a ruthlessly nauseating 2022 draft class. And all signs point to general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah’s improvement since.
However, players like J.J. McCarthy, Dallas Turner, and Donovan Jackson cannot go the way of Lewis Cine, Andrew Booth, and Ed Ingram. For the Super Bowl window to remain open indefinitely (assuming No. 1 on this list complies), the Vikings must hit on most draft picks. It’s the way the sport works.
Adofo-Mensah did all his big spending in 2025. He won’t have that luxury henceforth until it’s time to rebuild again, which he and fans want to avoid, on the whole.
Vikings.com’s Lindsey Young wrote about Dallas Turner last month, “Turner acknowledged the difficulty of going from the college ranks — where he was an Alabama team captain and consensus First-Team All-American — to an NFL rookie learning from more experienced teammates. Turner is looking forward to learning all he can from Jonathan Allen, just as he did last season (and will continue to do) from the likes of Andrew Van Ginkel and Jonathan Greenard.”
“He also credited former Vikings outside linebacker Pat Jones II with taking him under his wing during the 2024 campaign. He told reporters he’s ‘way ahead’ at this point in the offseason from where he was 12 months ago, both physically and mentally.”
The Top 3 Things the Vikings Can’t Bungle in 2025
This season is all about excitement for the purple team, and it must avoid these pitfalls.
3. Poor Rushing Offense
Head coach Kevin O’Connell is not a maestro of rushing offense.
He whispers to quarterbacks, squeezing the very best from them, almost regardless of the passer, but his rushing playcalling and efficiency haven’t gotten the job done.
Thankfully, Minnesota has Aaron Jones back in the saddle, and it traded for Jordan Mason four months ago. But remember this: the Vikings won’t become genuine contenders until the rushing offense is a Top 15 group. Few Super Bowl-winning teams rely on the glitz of passing the rock 65% of the time.
Gotta pound the football in playoffs and demoralize defenses. Move the sticks. Run the game out with a lead in the 2nd Half.
2. Playoff One-and-Done
O’Connell personally cannot afford to reach the playoffs and lose immediately. He’s done that twice — in 2022 against Daniel Jones’ New York Giants and last year in Arizona versus the Los Angeles Rams.
If the Vikings get to the postseason — they have the depth chart for it — they must win their first game. Otherwise, O’Connell will develop a nasty reputation as a regular season guru and playoff phony.
1. Inexperienced QB Sinking Dazzling Roster
Let’s be clear: J.J. McCarthy does not have to play as well as Patrick Mahomes in 2018, Justin Herbert in 2020, or Jayden Daniels in 2024 — otherworldly first-time starters.
But he can’t look like a moron, not with this roster.
To his credit, McCarthy likely won’t look a moron, and this one can be much ado about nothing.
Still, Minnesota currently boasts its best roster, on paper, arguably since 2009. It can’t let awful, turnover-ridden quarterback performance be the undoing.
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