Daily Norseman
It’s all about learning for the rest of the season. Christopher Gates was the first to break the news that the Minnesota Vikings were officially eliminated from playoff contention for the 2025 NFL season. As Chris says, that means we will facing a fourth-place schedule for next season. In addition to that, the Vikings will be playing the NFC and AFC East, guaranteeing a matchup between the Vikings and, who I am predicting to be the defending Super Bowl Champion, the Buffalo Bills. However, next season is still far in the future by current-day NFL standards.
At the time of writing, we are still about three hours away from Sunday Night Football kickoff. There is still Minnesota Vikings football to watch. I will say it does feel like I’ve become free a little bit. Without the aspiration to compete for a playoff spot, I can watch some stress-free Minnesota Vikings football. I will continue to root for my favorite football team and want to see players step up. This is a pivotal time for this organization, and there is still plenty to play for. I was very happy with the dominant win over the Commanders last week and can ride that high for the rest of the season. Now is the time to look for up-and-comers along with standouts.
The biggest piece to the Vikings’ future success puzzle is the development of J.J. McCarthy as an NFL quarterback. The next four games will have an immense impact on the direction of this franchise. I would love to see McCarthy just play out of his mind. The pressure is off. He can just go out there and compete, and I think it’s his fire that is his most important trait. He might not always light up the stat sheet, but I still believe in J.J. McCarthy as an underrated athlete with a rocket arm. The leg kick is probably going to be there for the rest of the season. As I’ve also said before, McCarthy is a year behind schedule. The original plan, I believe, was for this year to be more competitive and for next season to be the start of a series of playoff runs. I think that is still the plan, just on a truncated timeline.
It might be ugly, but it is also going to be fun. When this team is clicking on all cylinders, they can win football games. Tonight is a chance to win back-to-back games for the FIRST time this season. Another player’s development I look forward to seeing is Dallas Turner’s. Can he show that he is worth the first-round draft pick and become a true game wrecker? Only time will tell, and time is about all we have right about now.
This team also needs to continue forming an identity for this season and beyond. The current identity of the offense is one that is so inconsistent that all it can consistently do is be inconsistent. As for the defense, the identity...
