Revisiting Minnesota Vikings Bold Predictions: J.J. McCarthy didn’t live up to the hype, and one area had surprising success
Our bold predictions on the offensive side of the ball for the Minnesota Vikings didn’t pan out, but a couple of them came closer than you would think.
The 2025 season for the Minnesota Vikings didn’t go as planned. After a 4-8 start, they finished with a five-game winning streak to finish 9-8 and secure the worst pick in the NFL Draft for a non-playoff team.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell‘s offense was the worst he’s had in his four-year tenure, and most of it has to do with quarterback play. J.J. McCarthy didn’t live up to the hype and was injured for a significant portion of the season.
Ahead of the season, we took a look at some bold predictions for the offense, and things didn’t go nearly as planned.
Revisiting Minnesota Vikings 2025 offensive bold predictions
J.J. McCarthy has a higher than 2.5:1 TD:INT ratio
Status: Fail
It’s no secret that McCarthy struggled this season. The game was too fast for him, and there were injury issues outside of his own that played into it. There was some growth at the end of the season with his game, especially against the Washington Commanders and Dallas Cowboys. Playing well against bad defenses is a good thing, but it only tells you so much.
He finished the season with 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, while also achieving four more on the ground. Next season will hopefully be better for the young quarterback with just 10 starts, but it wasn’t a promising start.
Jordan Mason will have 10+ touchdowns
Status: Fail
It’s hard to know how the touchdown distribution will go in a given year. When the Vikings traded for Jordan Mason, it was part of a concerted effort to improve the running game in the red zone. They struggled mightily in 2024, and the hope was that it would improve in 2025.
As a team, they had just 15 touchdowns on the ground, and Mason accounted for six of them. Due to game scripts, the Vikings didn’t run as much as they would have liked, and that limited some of Mason’s opportunities. Next season should see growth in that area.
Josh Oliver sets career highs across the board
Status: Fail
My prevailing thought was that Oliver was going to be a focus this season in 12 personnel packages. The thought was also that the passing game would be much more effective than it was. Oliver’s production took a drop this year, but he did set a career-high with four touchdowns. His presence is vital to the success of the Vikings, and he will be important next season.
Vikings’ offensive line allows 28 or fewer sacks
Status: Correct
This one came down to the wire. The offensive line had a lot of issues this season with the starters missing a combined 22 games. Overall, the Vikings quarterbacks were sacked 60 times this season, but the offensive line was only responsible for 26 of them, as running backs were responsible for four of them and the quarterbacks 30, per Pro Football Focus. If the Vikings can keep the unit healthy, it could elevate the offense significantly next season.
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