The NFL offseason is grinding to a screeching halt.
Over the next few days, we’ll be going around the NFC North team-by-team to look at how the Detroit Lions’ biggest competition has changed over the last few months, why Detroit did or didn’t have success against them during the 2025 season, why that might or might not continue in 2026, and the general season outlook for each opponent.
Today’s offseason recon mission is on the Minnesota Vikings.
Vikings 2025 season in review
Record: 9-8, 3rd place NFC North
Offense: 26th, points for (20.2); 28th, yards (275.0)
Defense: 7th, points against (19.6); 3rd, yards (282.6)
After a 14-3 season (and swift postseason dismissal) in 2024, the Vikings moved on from quarterback Sam Darnold and put all of their eggs into J.J. McCarthy’s basket. McCarthy, the former Michigan star, missed seven games due to injury and was ineffective when he did play, completing just 57.6% of his passes (last among qualified quarterbacks) and throwing for 11 touchdowns and 12 interceptions in 10 starts.
Minnesota, still owners of a hellacious defense and elite playmakers at the offensive skill positions, finished above .500 despite struggles from their young quarterback, going 6-4 when McCarthy started, 2-3 with Carson Wentz, and 1-1 under Max Brosmer, with Brosmer’s lone win coming against Detroit on Christmas.
The Vikings won five straight games to close the season, but were out of the playoff race after going 1-6 — again, their lone win coming against Detroit — in the seven games prior, leaving them with a record of 4-8 before the winning streak started.
Entering the offseason, the Vikings’ top priority was upgrading at quarterback. Darnold, meanwhile, led the Seattle Seahawks to a Super Bowl victory using the exact same formula — an elite defense, competent quarterback, and talent at the skill positions — that Minnesota already had in place.
Vikings 2026 offseason
Key additions: QB Kyler Murray (Arizona Cardinals), WR Jauan Jennings (San Francisco 49ers), CB James Pierre (Pittsburgh Steelers)
Key departures: GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah, DL Jonathan Allen (Cincinnati Bengals), WR Jalen Nailor (Las Vegas Raiders), DL Javon Hargrave (Green Bay Packers), LT Justin Skule (Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
Vikings draft class: DL Caleb Banks (Southfield A&T/Florida, Round 1); LB Jake Golday (Cincinnati, Round 2); DL Domonique Orange (Iowa State, Round 3); OT Caleb Tiernan (Detroit Country Day/Northwestern Round 3); S Jakobe Thomas (Miami, Round 3); FB Max Bredeson (Michigan, Round 5); CB Charles Demmings (Stephen F. Austin, Round 5); RB Demond Claiborne (Wake Forest, Round 6)
Minnesota shocked everybody by moving on from their general manager, Adofo-Mensah, nearly four weeks after their season officially ended on Jan. 4. The Vikings still don’t have a general manager in place. Rob Brzezinski has been acting as interim GM; he ran the draft and free agency and is among at least 10 known candidates for the job. According to multiple reports, Lions assistant general manager Ray Agnew, who’s been with Detroit since 2021, is a candidate for the position.
The Vikings’ sole mission of upgrading at quarterback was completed when they signed two-time Pro Bowler Murray to a one-year, $1.3 million deal. They shed some expensive defensive linemen in Allen and Hargrave and attempted to chip away at fixing the defensive interior by selecting Banks with the No. 18 pick in Round 1.
They replaced a departing Nailor with Jennings from San Francisco, who totaled 1,618 yards and 15 touchdowns over his last two seasons. And they added Pierre and Thomas as their only multi-year deals to help the team’s struggling secondary, which was fourth-from-last in average separation (3.7 yards) last season.
Ultimately, Minnesota didn’t do much to change the bones of its team. Besides Jennings, whose salary is unknown, the Vikings made just one outside signing with a contract value greater than $1.5 million (Pierre), and just five external signings overall.
Lions-Vikings 2025 series in review
Record: 2-0, Vikings
The Lions’ season was going swimmingly entering the bye week. Detroit was 5-2 and set to face a battered and bruised 3-4 Vikings team upon return. McCarthy had been a disaster. It seemed like it’d be an easy win at Ford Field, the first step toward a dominant second half of the season. And then the Lions were inexplicably manhandled, 27-24, resulting in a change of offensive play-callers. Just like that, Detroit’s season flipped on its head.
Including the first loss to Minnesota, the Lions finished the season 4-6. They had a chance to keep their playoff hopes alive entering the season finale by winning at U.S. Bank Stadium on Christmas, but, again, were thoroughly beaten, officially eliminating them from playoff contention. This time, the Vikings were led at quarterback by an undrafted rookie (Brosmer), who threw for just 51 yards in a 23-10 win.
The Vikings not only retained Flores for a fourth season, but they also added to the quarterback position with Murray, who will have every chance to rehabilitate his game under coach Kevin O’Connell.
How did the Vikings do it?: One word: Heat. The story of these two games was how Flores had finally vanquished the Lions’ offense after failing to do so in 2024, bringing relentless pressure that kept quarterback Jared Goff uncomfortable from start to finish. In two games, the Vikings registered 10 sacks.
In the first game, Minnesota repeatedly used a cross-dog blitz to force Jahmyr Gibbs into pass-protection situations he was not equipped to handle, as the star halfback allowed a whopping seven pressures. Minnesota, which had a league-high quarterback pressure rate of 41.4%, tallied its second-highest pressures (20) of the season, per Next Gen Stats.
In the second game, Detroit was without starting linemen Graham Glasgow and Taylor Decker; Dan Skipper started for Decker, and Kingsley Eguakun made his second career start in the place of Glasgow. Goff was sacked five times yet again, threw two interceptions — he had just six total across Detroit’s other 17 games — and lost three fumbles in the two-score loss.
They also completely bottled up Detroit’s run game, holding them to 65 and 68 yards on the ground, respectively, two of their four lowest outputs on the season.
On offense, the Vikings didn’t have much for Detroit. The Lions’ defense allowed an average of just 209.5 total yards of offense over the two contests, two of their four best performances on the season. But the Vikings consistently capitalized on explosive special-teams plays and turnovers that Detroit could not, leading to a season sweep.
Lions-Vikings 2026 series preview
Matchups: Week 8, 1 p.m., at Detroit; Week 15, 8:20 p.m. (“Sunday Night Football”), at Minnesota
The Lions get Minnesota midseason at home and end-of-season on the road for the second straight year. The Lions have a bye in Week 6, play the Packers at home in Week 7, then get the Vikings at Ford Field.
How can Lions flip the script?: The Lions were aggressive in addressing the offensive line, arguably the biggest reason they were swept by both Minnesota and Green Bay. Former All-Pro center Frank Ragnow was one of the biggest keys to Detroit’s previous success against the Vikings. So Detroit made Cade Mays, an emerging talent at the position, their top free-agent priority. He’ll ideally help Goff and offensive coordinator Drew Petzing dismantle Flores’ game plans while being able to give more, physically, than Glasgow and Eguakun. The Lions also made an attempt to upgrade the left tackle position long-term, drafting Blake Miller from Clemson with the No. 17 pick.
Goff was sacked a career-high 38 times on the season, so it wasn’t just a problem that showed up in matchups against the Vikings.
Petzing, too, will be a big part of reclaiming dominance; former offensive coordinator Ben Johnson was near-flawless as a play-caller in matchups against Flores, something neither John Morton nor Dan Campbell was able to replicate.
Defensively, the Lions don’t have much to correct in this matchup, specifically, even though they did allow 50 total points against Minnesota. But they’ll need to be much better on special teams if they’re hoping to avoid a similar fate in 2026.
2026 Vikings at large
(All odds via DraftKings)
Head coach: Kevin O’Connell (Year 5)
Offensive coordinator: Wes Phillips (Year 5)
Defensive coordinator: Brian Flores (Year 4)
Strength of schedule: 11th hardest
Win total over-under: 8.5
Super Bowl champion odds: +5000 (t-17th)
NFC champion odds: +2200 (10th)
NFC North champion odds: +500 (4th)
The Vikings will face an uphill battle trying to replace the snaps of Hargrave and Allen, but by and large return most of the impact players from their defense. Paired with another year of continuity under Flores, there’s no reason to project a drop-off unless the young defensive interior is just a nightmare. Even then, the Vikings’ defense’s floor is higher than most defenses’ ceilings.
It all comes down, then, to how well Murray is able to acclimate to his new team. We know what O’Connell has done for other unheralded quarterbacks, namely Darnold, and anxiously await the answer to whether he can do it again. Coupled with the reliable defense, a bounce-back season from Murray should be all the Vikings need to become a contender in this division once again.
nbianchi@detroitnews.com
@nolanbianchi
This article originally appeared on The Detroit News: Can Lions flip script on Minnesota Vikings in 2026?
Reporting by Nolan Bianchi, The Detroit News / The Detroit News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
