The Minnesota Vikings are one week away from the first game of the 2025 season, when they will face the Chicago Bears on Monday night.

There are a lot of interesting storylines for the Vikings. Will J.J. McCarthy come close to replicating what Sam Darnold did last season? How much will the running game grow? How does the defense improve from an overall excellent season?

We know that Justin Jefferson will be a massive contributor on this offense, and his dominance makes a bold prediction hard. However, his presence will make others easier to hit.

Minnesota Vikings Offense Bold Predictions

The bold predictions from last season were a mixed bag, as we hit three of the four.

• Hit: Darnold 4,000 passing yards, Jefferson under 2,000 receiving yards, Ed Ingram less than 30 pressures
• Miss: Ty Chandler leads the team in rushing

This year, we make another four bold predictions.

J.J. McCarthy has a higher than 2.5:1 TD:INT ratio

The biggest reason for keeping this bold prediction vague is not understanding what exactly the Vikings’ offense will look like this season. How much do they run the football versus throwing it? Head coach Kevin O’Connell will throw the ball a significant amount. But they could run the football a lot more in the red zone since the offseason was essentially predicated on fixing the red zone issues.

McCarthy does a good job of protecting the football overall, and this skill should translate to the NFL. He’s already shown plenty of ability to throw with anticipation and plus ball placement, among other things.

Where this prediction becomes bold is looking at the number of quarterbacks who have a career TD:INT ratio above 2.5 for a career. Only nine of them rank that high for a career, and four of them have won an MVP award.

Jordan Mason runs for 10+ touchdowns

The Vikings’ running game needed to be fixed quickly. The red zone was a brutal spot for the Vikings, as they ranked 19th in touchdown percentage across the league. Those issues were a major factor in why they lost to the Detroit Lions in the regular season finale.

As mentioned above, the biggest focus was on fixing the trenches, mainly because of the issues they had in converting once in the red zone. Arguably, the most significant single addition was running back Jordan Mason because he brings a level of physicality and contact balance. He is the perfect complement to what Aaron Jones brings, and that will be a massive factor in the Vikings’ offense taking a huge step forward in terms of efficiency.

Josh Oliver sets career highs across the board

Jordan Addison’s suspension, along with the renewed focus on the running game, will make tight end Josh Oliver a major beneficiary. He is going to see more action and, in turn, set career-highs.

It’s not necessarily a hot take for Oliver to set career bests in one or two metrics, but this prediction is across the board. These are his current career highs:

• Targets: 28
• Receptions: 22
• Yards: 258
• Touchdowns: 3

Watch him take a step forward and break all four of his previous career highs.

---

Vikings’ offensive line allows 28 or fewer sacks

Minnesota’s line was good enough for the majority of the year last year. In fact, it won 14 games, including a nine-game winning streak. However, it was the biggest issue for the Vikings and ended up costing them their season.

Last year, the Vikings allowed 48 sacks, and a lot of those had to do with Darnold holding onto the ball too long. McCarthy doesn’t have that issue and has a quick release. That, paired with how much the offensive line has improved, will end up making a huge impact on the season.

Minnesota Vikings News

How to watch Minnesota Vikings vs. Chicago Bears Week 1: J.J. McCarthy gets his first NFL start in primetime

It’s a massive season opener for both teams.

Tyler Forness