Vikings Head into Offseason with Positive Momentum, Regrets, and Work to Do

Sunday’s season-ending 16-3 win over the Packers left Vikings players, coaches, and team execs with mixed feelings. Despite the Packers sitting many key starters, it’s always nice to beat your biggest divisional rival in dominant fashion and finish with a winning record and a five-game winning streak for some positive momentum into 2026.

The Vikings ended 2025 on a high note, but the win didn’t answer many offseason questions

Then there are the regrets of knowing if the Vikings had done a better job covering the final kickoff and stopped the Bears on their game-winning drive at home on November 16, that one more win would’ve meant the Vikings — not the Bears — would be NFC North champions after the Bears lost to the Lions on Sunday.

The Vikings and Bears would be 10-7, and the Vikings would have won the tie-breaker with a season sweep. They’d hold the No. 3 NFC seed and host the 49ers in the Wildcard round this weekend.

Of course, the Packers would have played all their starters on Sunday in that scenario, with a playoff spot on the line, but I still would’ve picked the Vikings to win, with their winning streak fueled by the defense playing so well and the Packers having lost three straight coming into the game.  

The Win Helped, but the Vikings Offseason Question Only Increased

An argument can be made that, as of the end of the regular season, the Vikings are the best team in the NFC North. They beat the Lions handily in Week 17, and the Lions beat the Bears on Sunday. While the Vikings were on their winning streak, the Packers lost their last four games, the Lions lost three of four, and the Bears lost their final two games.

The reality is, as Hall of Fame Coach Bill Parcells said, “You are what your record says you are.” That’s 9-8 with the Vikings having the best record of all non-playoff teams, so they will draft 18th in the first round and play a third-place schedule in 2026 (more favorable than their second-place schedule this season).

After the Vikings allowed only 121 yards to the Packers to finish third in overall defense, it’s obvious if the Vikings offense had been average this season (instead of 28th), had more consistent play at quarterback, fewer injuries on offense and not led the league with 30 giveaways along with covering that kickoff against the Bears, the Vikings would be preparing this week for a playoff game.

Now the focus shifts to what needs to happen for better results next season. It’s going to be a challenge, but that’s always the case in the ultra-competitive NFL. On the 2026 agenda: J.J. McCarthy’s progress and better health, Brian Flores future, salary cap maneuvering, free agency/trade moves (with a better No. 2 QB, a quality, healthy center and another solid corner and safety as critical needs) and a strong draft to add a starter or two and quality depth (the Vikings hold eight picks and may get additional compensatory picks).

I’ll give my offseason road map for a return to the playoffs next week. First, a look back at the season-finale victory in the Border Battle.  

Here are my other reactions to the victory over the Packers:

1. McCarthy’s 10th start was mostly good but still inconsistent. His early exit continues the dialogue on his durability: his numbers were fine (14 of 23 for 182 yards with no TDs and no turnovers), and he made several excellent throws to Justin Jefferson, Jalen Nailor, and a terrific throw on the run for 18 yards to Ben Sims that set up C.J. Ham’s TD run.

McCarthy also had several passes that sailed high and one near pick. His taunting penalty that killed the opening drive (resulting in a field goal instead of a TD) was something that he can’t do, and he said it won’t happen again.

He’s taken some criticism for not playing through the hand discomfort, but I think he was smart to avoid worsening the injury by leaving the game. The Vikings were ahead 13-0 when he departed early in the third quarter, and there wasn’t a playoff spot on the line.

Max Brosmer was just ok in relief as he completed seven of eight passes for 57 yards, but he held the ball on one of his sacks and made a careless play on the sack/lost fumble by holding the ball out as he tried to get up after being tripped. It was first-and-goal from the Packers 5 on that play, so the Vikings were in field goal range and may have still scored a TD on the series if Brosmer protected the ball.

2. Good to see Jefferson hit the thousand-yard mark in a frustrating season for him: he had eight catches for 101 yards to achieve his first 100-yard plus game since Week 5 against the Browns and on a nice catch-and-run for 17 yards (on an excellent pass from McCarthy) on the drive to a field goal in the second quarter, Jefferson joined Randy Moss and Mike Evans as the only NFL players to have 1,000-plus receiving yards in each of their first six seasons.

Jefferson finished the season with 84 catches for 1,048 yards and two TDs (career lows in yards and TDs). He had a few drops this year but plenty of great plays that show he’s still one of the best wide receivers despite having to deal with quarterback inconsistency, QB injuries, offensive line instability, and lineup shuffling.

3. The Vikings ran it well against the Packers’ D, missing several starters. Jordan Mason had a solid game with 94 rushing yards (6.7-yard average).  

4. Nice day for the D, but we have to take it with a grain of salt, as Packers coach Matt LaFleur held out many key offensive players, starting with QB Jordan Love. Third-string QB Clayton Tune was no match for the Vikings’ D, as he was sacked four times and threw only 11 passes (for a net of minus seven passing yards).

The Packers ran it 35 times to ease the burden on Tune and shorten the game. The Vikings had eight tackles-for-loss, with the best being the 18-yard loss by Emanuel Wilson (tackled by Eric Wilson) that helped set up the Vikings’ second-quarter TD drive.

5. Dallas Turner has made significant strides in Year 2: against Green Bay, he had two sacks (including a strip sack) and two tackles-for-loss. He finished as the team leader with eight sacks (vs. three in his rookie season). He also had 11 tackles-for-loss compared to three last season. As he continues to get stronger through training, the 22-year-old should be headed to Pro Bowl status.

Turner and McCarthy, as 2024 first-round picks, are clearly two of the most important players for the future success of the Vikings.

6. How about trying to return a few more punts, Jeshaun Jones? He had two returns for five yards but made fair catches on four other punts, including a couple where he had plenty of room to run. Perhaps he was ordered to fair catch by the coaches. Myles Price was out with an ankle injury and will most likely be the return man next season.

7. Penalty-free, a good way to finish: only two penalties for 20 yards to end a season where penalties were a problem in several games.

8. Wonderful tributes to six-time Pro Bowler Harrison Smith and two-time Pro Bowler C.J. Ham: The two players were saluted by the fans and the Vikings organization late in the Packers game. Both players are apparently contemplating retirement after great careers.

Based on how they played in the second half of the season (after overcoming injuries that kept them out early), I think the Vikings would benefit from both Smith and Ham returning in 2026.

Smith was the leader of the secondary that played well down the stretch, and the Vikings finished as the second-best team in pass defense. Smith’s blitzing and fake blitzes helped rattle young and older quarterbacks, including Jayden Daniels, Jaxson Dart, Jared Goff, and Tune, during the late-season winning streak.

Ham played a key role in pass protection and run blocking as well as on special teams and scored the only TD on Sunday.

Both Smith and Ham are team leaders who are great in the community, with Ham the Vikings’ 2025 Walter Payton Man of the Year nominee.  

Around the NFL Observations from Week 18 & Wild Card round picks:

1. Seattle and Denver earned No. 1 seeds in each conference, while other division winners include Philadelphia (the only repeat champion), Carolina (in a tie-breaker), and Chicago in the NFC and New England, Jacksonville, and Pittsburgh in the AFC. There are six new playoff teams (a 43% turnover) and both of last year’s No. 1 seeds — Kansas City and Detroit — missed the playoffs.

The game of the week was the Steelers’ dramatic Sunday night victory over Baltimore. Each team scored two TDs in the fourth quarter as Aaron Rodgers and Lamar Jackson traded off making big plays. After the Steelers’ last TD, Chris Boswell missed his first extra point in three years, which kept the Ravens within two points. Jackson converted a fourth-down pass to Isaiah Likely to set up a 44-yard potential game-winning field goal that rookie Tyler Loop missed wide right.

Myles Garrett got his 23^rd sack (on Joe Burrow) to break the league single-season record of 22.5 set in 2001 by Michael Strahan and tied in 2021 by T.J. Watt.  

2. My picks this weekend in the wild card round: on Saturday, the Rams win at Carolina and the Packers beat the Bears at Soldier Field; on Sunday, I like the Bills over the Jaguars in Jacksonville, the Eagles to beat the 49ers in Philly and the Patriots to win at home over the Chargers, and the Texans will get the road victory against the Steelers on Monday night.