The Vikings Beat the Pack—That’s the Good News
Vikings Territory Breakdown Podcast
The good news: The Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 16-3 in the season finale; they finish the season on a five-game winning streak and outside the basement of the NFC North Division; and quarterback J.J. McCarthy returns from injury to get the win and help finish off a 9-8 season. The bad news: The game was meaningless (record-wise), the Packers rested their starters to prepare for their Wild Card playoff game next week and McCarthy left the game after re-injuring his hand. The Vikings season in a nutshell: some good, some bad and more questions than answers.
Some of those questions: Who will be the Vikings quarterback in 2026? If given the nod, can McCarthy stay healthy for an entire season? Will the team trade for a veteran (Joe Burrow would be too expensive) or will they sign another aging veteran to back up McCarthy and challenge him for the starting role. Will Brian Flores return to lead the defense he created that kept the Vikings relevant in most of the 2025 games? Will the rebuilt offensive line be back and actually play together for more than a couple games in ’26? C.J. appears to be retiring—will Harrison Smith join him and someday make it to the Hall of Fame? Who else will not be returning to the Purple next season? And, most importantly, can the Vikings get back to the playoffs next season?
One more question: Will Sam Darnold with the very good Seattle defense and the top playoff seed in the NFC, make it to the Super Bowl (and cause some Vikings fans’ heads to explode)? We will have to wait on that one, but that won’t stop the fellas at the 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) from speculating on it all the same. Tune in and check it out. Skol!
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