Minnesota Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings finished 2025 at 9-and-8 and missed the playoffs, a jarring follow-up to last year's 14-win juggernaut. This was a year defined by a quarterback carousel, an offensive line held together with duct tape, and a defense carrying water while the offense sputtered. Minnesota bottomed out at 4-and-8 after a Week 13 shutout in Seattle — then ripped off five straight to close the year, including a 31-to-nothing demolition of the Commanders in Week 14. It was just the second time in franchise history the Vikings have closed a regular season with five-plus wins. The tone of the year: a battered, muffed offense and a defense that refused to let the season die.

The season-level numbers tell the story. Minnesota averaged just 188.7 passing yards and 109.2 rushing yards per game, and posted a team passing expected points added — which measures how much each pass play improved their scoring chances — of minus 103. That is rough. The offense converted just 32 percent of third downs and scored touchdowns on only 21 percent of red-zone trips, both bottom-of-the-league. The defense countered with a passing expected points added allowed of minus 73 — and on defense, a big negative is elite — plus minus 27 on the ground. The offense was boom-or-bust in the worst way: 48 on the Bengals in Week 3, 34 on the Cowboys in Week 15, but also a 6-point dud against Atlanta and two games short of double digits. The defense, by contrast, was the steady floor — holding opponents to 200 net passing yards or fewer in 13 games, the first time since 1989.

Now let's talk about the passing offense. This unit got muffed, full stop. 3,208 passing yards over 17 games, 18 touchdown throws against 27 team turnovers, minus 103 expected points added, and — the number that tells the whole story — 60 sacks allowed, an 11-and-a-half percent sack rate that was the worst in the league entering Week 18. Boom-or-bust doesn't cover it; this was collapse. J.J. McCarthy debuted with three fourth-quarter touchdowns, sprained his ankle, and disappeared until November, finishing 10 games with 1,632 yards, 11 touchdowns, 12 interceptions, and a passing expected points added of minus 54 — 38th among quarterbacks in per-dropback value. Even Justin Jefferson posted a minus 13.8 receiving expected points added because so many targets came on doomed downs. When your best weapon's advanced number goes red, the unit around him has failed him.

Now let's dig into the rushing offense. The more functional half of the offense — though that's a low bar — and the steadier of the two units. 1,856 rushing yards, 4.7 yards per carry, 15 rushing touchdowns, and a rushing expected points added of minus 5.9, roughly league-average. Jordan Mason was the lead back the Vikings needed: 758 yards on 159 carries with six rushing touchdowns across 16 games, a bruising short-yardage finisher who punched in an 8-yard score on third-and-1 in the Week 14 shutout of Washington. The run game didn't win games by itself, but it didn't lose them either, and in the five-game closing streak it became the spine of what Kevin O'Connell could actually call.

Next up, the pass defense. This is where the Vikings smashed. Brian Flores's unit allowed just 177.7 passing yards per game, got home for 49 sacks, and posted a passing expected points added allowed of minus 73 — elite, and remarkably consistent, holding opponents under 200 net passing yards in 13 of 17 games. Andrew Van Ginkel jumped a Jayden Daniels throw in the red zone during the Week 14 shutout of Washington and returned it 40 yards, a play that ended the game in the third quarter. The pass rush was the engine, and even when the offense was leaking oil, this group kept Minnesota in games they had no business being in.

And the run defense. Solid, not spectacular, but absolutely sufficient — and remarkably consistent week to week. 124.8 rushing yards allowed per game, 13 rushing touchdowns surrendered, and a rushing expected points added allowed of minus 27, a firmly above-average number. The per-carry figure of minus 0.05 tells you opponents weren't generating explosive plays on the ground; they had to work for every yard. No single opponent ran them out of the building, and the defensive front turned what should have been a rebuilding year up front into a genuine strength. When the offense went missing, the run defense made sure games stayed within reach.