Is He Playing? Day 1

The Minnesota Vikings are playing the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. It’s Week 18 of the long 2025 NFL Season. The Vikings will not be part of the playoffs. That was determined weeks ago. The Packers will be part of the playoffs. The Vikings gave them that opportunity with a Christmas Day defeat of the Detroit Lions. The Vikings are riding a four-game win streak. The Packers have lost their last three games. It’s wild that in this game between long-time division rivals, the Vikings are the team that appear more interested in winning it. 

The NFL expanded the season to 17 games in 2021. It was a money-grab. The league didn’t add an extra week of exciting professional football. If Commissioner Roger Goodell saw an extra week of division-deciding, playoff-impacting games, he was a fool. What he got, what we all got, was a week filled with games that are more like preseason games. Of the 16 games this week, a whopping three mean something to the teams playing in them. It’s been like that each season since the league moved to 17 games. There was a time when every game meant something to the teams playing in them. Teams with nothing to gain played like the games meant something. Teams played through the end of the season no matter when it came. Today, teams sit out games. Vince Lombardi is rolling in his grave. Preseason games in December and January. Thanks Roger. 

The Packers are starting Clayton Tune. CLAYTON TUNE! The Packers are playing in Week 18 like it’s Week 3 of the preseason. The Vikings are playing to win. They are playing to end a disappointing season with a winning record. Considering the disappointments, that’s remarkable. Since the Vikings are playing to win in Week 18, the question this week has been: Will J.J. McCarthy play against the Packers? Right now, I’m about 85% certain that he plays. McCarthy has a hairline fracture in his throwing hand. He left the Week 16 game against the New York Giants at the half. He couldn’t grip the ball. That was evident when an unprovoked fumble ended the half. The hand is feeling better. The swelling is down. He can grip the ball. He was listed as limited in yesterday’s practice. If he practices fully today, I’m bumping my 85% guess to 100%. Until that news hits these ears, my “is he playing” on Day 1 is likely. 

Pro Football Hall of Fame Finalists

The 15 Modern-Era Finalists for the 2026 Pro Football Hall of Fame were announced yesterday. 

Willie Anderson, OT

Drew Brees, QB

Jahri Evans, G

Larry Fitzgerald, WR

Frank Gore, RB

Torry Holt, WR

Luke Kuechly, LB

Eli Manning, QB

Terrell Suggs, OLB

Adam Vinatieri, K

Reggie Wayne, WR

Kevin Williams, DT

Jason Witten, TE

Darren Woodson, S

Marshall Yanda, G

Willie Anderson, Torry Holt, Luke Kuechly, and Adam Vinatieri advanced to this stage automatically due to each candidate reaching the Final 7 last year. With the fluctuating views of the voters, this feels like a questionable new wrinkle to the process. There are a lot of questionable wrinkles in the current voting process. Anyway, Anderson, Holt, Kuechly, and Vinatieri are Finalists this year due to the voting last year. 

The list of 15 Finalists includes four players in their first year of eligibility:

Drew Brees

Larry Fitzgerald

Frank Gore

Jason Witten

I’d say it’s a pretty safe bet that Drew Brees and Larry Fitzgerald will be in Canton next August. 

There’s one more player among the Finalists that’s a finalist for the first time. 

Kevin Williams

Despite being in his sixth year of eligibility, this is the first time as a Finalist for Kevin Williams. History shows a quick Hall entrance for players with five first-team All-Pros and an All-Decade honor. Somehow, the outstanding career of Williams has eluded the voters. It’s a mystery as to how he slipped detection for so long. Is this the first year of a long wait on the doorstep or are the voters serious about addressing five years of mistakes? Richard Seymour was an equally talented peer of Williams. When Seymour was inducted in 2022, I figured that Williams would be next. Nope. Somehow, he didn’t even reach the semi-finalist stage until this year. Kevin Williams had a Hall of Fame career and is much-deserving of a bust in Canton. 

Times as a Finalist:

Willie Anderson: 5

Drew Brees: 1

Jahri Evans: 3

Larry Fitzgerald: 1

Frank Gore: 1

Torry Holt: 7

Luke Kuechly: 2

Eli Manning: 2

Terrell Suggs: 2

Adam Vinatieri: 2

Reggie Wayne: 7

Kevin Williams: 1

Jason Witten: 1

Darren Woodson: 4

Marshall Yanda: 2

Years of Eligibility:

1st:

Drew Brees

Larry Fitzgerald

Frank Gore

Jason Witten

2nd:

Luke Kuechly

Eli Manning

Terrell Suggs

Adam Vinatieri

Marshall Yanda

4th:

Jahri Evans

6th:

Kevin Williams

7th: 

Reggie Wayne

12th: 

Torry Holt

13th:

Willie Anderson

18th:

Darren Woodson

In my opinion, there are three Hall of Fame locks among the 15 Finalists.

Drew Brees

Larry Fitzgerald

Luke Kuechly

I still can’t believe that Luke Kuechly didn’t make it in his first year. Seeing as the voters did the same shit with Patrick Willis, I shouldn’t have been surprised. Kuechly should make it in his second year. 

In an effort to make induction a bit more challenging, the Hall revised the process before last year’s voting. That resulted in a tiny four-member Class. Congratulations! More of that and all you’ve done is create an insurmountable backlog of deserving Hall of Famers. Luke Kuechly should’ve been part of last year’s Class. Now, he’s probably going to take a spot from perhaps Willie Anderson this year. Or Kevin Williams. Or Marshall Yanda. Or Reggie Wayne. 

I’m going to ignore the suspect voting rules and predict the following five-member Modern-Era Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2026.

Drew Brees

Larry Fitzgerald

Luke Kuechly

Kevin Williams

Willie Anderson

I’d like to get one of Reggie Wayne or Torry Holt in this Class but Willie Anderson has been waiting longer. 

The Senior, Coach, and Contributor Finalists were determined earlier.

Senior:

Ken Anderson

Roger Craig

L.C. Greenwood

Coach:

Bill Belichick

Contributor:

Robert Kraft

The new process allows for a minimum of one and maximum of three from the above five candidates. I believe that the voters will go out their way to put Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft in together. That allows one spot for the Seniors. For me, that player would be Roger Craig. That player should’ve been Lavvie Dilweg, Verne Lewellen, or Al Wistert. Unfortunately, the voters have apparently shut the door on all deserving players in the Senior pool that played before 1970. 

I sure hope the ridiculous new voting process allows for an eight-member Class. There’s more than enough deserving Modern-Era players for it. 

Minnesota Vikings Late-Season Roster Tweaks

The Minnesota Vikings are on a late-season run. A month ago, they were sitting at 4-8 with playoff possibilities sitting at non-existent. Since then, the Vikings have won four games. They were eliminated from the playoffs as they started to win. One game remains. With a defeat of the Green Bay Packers, the Vikings can end the season with a winning record. In advance of the big, final game, there have been some tweaks to the roster. Many of the tweaks have been prompted by injuries. In the past two weeks, the Vikings have placed five players on injured reserve.

Christian Darrisaw, T

Jonathan Greenard, OLB

Joshua Metellus, S

Ryan Kelly, C

Elijah Williams, DL

All but Elijah Williams are starters. Jonathan Greenard and Joshua Metellus are captains. The Vikings might be on a four-game win streak but they are limping toward the finish line. 

To fill three of the those roster spots the Vikings signed the following players from the practice squad to the active roster.

Dwight McGlothern Jr., CB

Zemaiah Vaughn, CB

Henry Byrd, G

The remaining roster spots were filled by quarterback Brett Rypien, claimed off waivers from the Indianapolis Colts, and running back Ty Chandler, activated from injured reserve. 

One of the roster curiosities of this year’s Vikings team has been the cornerbacks. Early in the season, they ran with the following corners:

Byron Murphy Jr.

Isaiah Rodgers

Jeff Okudah

Three cornerbacks! Three! Through the first eight games, Okudah was played in six. A concussion put him on injured reserve and eventually ended his season. Fabian Moreau replaced Okudah as the third cornerback. Second-year corner Dwight McGlothern Jr. was a frequent game day elevation from the practice squad to give the Vikings four corners. On December 20, he was signed to the active roster. Undrafted rookie Zemaiah Vaughn was signed to the active roster yesterday. With five cornerbacks, the Vikings cornerback depth chart is finally as deep in numbers as most teams in the league. 

Byron Murphy Jr.

Isaiah Rodgers

Fabian Moreau

Dwight McGlothern Jr.

Zemaiah Vaughn

Dwight McGlothern Jr., at 6’2” and Zemaiah Vaughn, at 6’3”, give the Vikings some intriguing height at the position. The two young corners also might get a chance in the final game of the season to show what they might be able to add to the defense in 2026. 

One more game. One more win. 

Week 18 Schedule

The NFL holds back the Week 18 schedule in order to “cherry pick” the most intriguing games for the prime slots. As a result of that selective process, the Minnesota Vikings will host the Green Bay Packers in Sunday’s early window. The league determined that the most important game on the schedule wasn’t worthy of one of the prime slots. Those went to games with postseason implications. Starting with the most important game of the week, perhaps the season, here’s the Week 18 schedule. 

NFL Week 18 Schedule

(All times PT)

Sunday, January 4, 2026 10 AM 

Green Bay Packers @ Minnesota Vikings

The rest of the games:

Saturday, January 3, 2026 1:30 PM

Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Saturday, January 3, 2026 5:00 PM

Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers

Sunday, January 4, 2026 10 AM

New Orleans Saints @ Atlanta Falcons

Cleveland Browns @ Cincinnati Bengals

Dallas Cowboys @ New York Giants

Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars

Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans

Sunday, January 4, 2026 1:25 PM

New York Jets @ Buffalo Bills

Detroit Lions @ Chicago Bears

Los Angeles Chargers @ Denver Broncos

Kansas City Chiefs @ Las Vegas Raiders

Arizona Cardinals @ Los Angeles Rams

Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots 

Washington Commanders @ Philadelphia Eagles

Sunday, January 4, 2025 5:20 PM

Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers

***

Confirmed playoff participants:

NFC

Seattle Seahawks

Chicago Bears

Philadelphia Eagles

San Francisco 49ers

Los Angeles Rams

Green Bay Packers

AFC

Denver Broncos

New England Patriots

Jacksonville Jaguars

Houston Texans

Los Angeles Chargers

Buffalo Bills

Only two of the 14 playoff spots are still up for grabs. 

Still in the chase:

Carolina Panthers

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

Pittsburgh Steelers

Baltimore Ravens

Games with Playoff Implications:

Carolina Panthers @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers - Who wants to win the NFC South?

Does anyone want to win the NFC South? If the Buccaneers win, they’ll enter the playoffs with a losing record. The fun thing about this NFC South division title chase is the fact that the Atlanta Falcons, at 6-9, can still factor into it. They play the Los Angeles Rams tonight in the final game of Week 17. If the Falcons win out, they’d finish at 8-9. That and a Buccaneers win over the Panthers would create a three-way tie for the NFC South title. In that scenario, the Panthers would take the title with a better round-robin record among the three teams. 

Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers - This is for the #1 seed and the NFC West title.

Tennessee Titans @ Jacksonville Jaguars - Win, and the Jaguars are AFC South champs.

With Patriots and Broncos losses, the Jaguars would grab the #1 seed with a win.

Indianapolis Colts @ Houston Texans - A win and a Jaguars loss and the Texans are AFC South champs.

Los Angeles Chargers @ Denver Broncos - Win and the Broncos get the AFC’s #1 seed. The Chargers are secure as a wild card team.

Miami Dolphins @ New England Patriots - A win and a Broncos loss and the Patriots are the #1 seed. 

Baltimore Ravens @ Pittsburgh Steelers - The winner wins the AFC North. 

A Way, Way, Way Too Early Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft

I’m not sure if I’ve ever done a mock draft in December. I’ve always thought mock drafts before the order is set is a ridiculous waste of time. The Minnesota Vikings being eliminated from the playoffs and playing on Christmas gave me way too much time before the bulk of the Week 17 games are played today. I’m still basking in the glorious play of the Vikings defense against the Detroit Lions but I’ve also been thinking about potential additions from the 2026 NFL Draft. December is way too early for that. I’ve done it anyways. Here’s a way, way, way too early Minnesota Vikings Mock Draft.

1. Mansoor Delane, CB, LSU

2. Jadarian Price, RB, Notre Dame

3. Connor Lew, C, Auburn

3. Darrell Jackson Jr., DT, Florida State

4. Jacob Rodriguez, LB, Texas Tech

The draft order is an unknown. The Vikings work in free agency is an unknown. There are so many unknowns right now. In December, I feel like the Vikings biggest needs moving forward are a boundary corner, a center, a run stopper on the defensive line, and a running back. The first four picks address each of those positions. Unless Ohio State safety Caleb Downs or Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love miraculously fall, I really like cornerback in the first round. The Vikings likely draft slot should put them in position to select LSU’s Mansoor Delane or Clemson’s Avieon Terrell. Either would complete a solid corner trio with Byron Murphy Jr. and Isaiah Rodgers. There are a few interesting centers in this draft. Auburn’s Connor Lew, Florida’s Jake Slaughter, Iowa’s Logan Jones, and Oregon’s Iapani Laloulu probably intrigue me the most. In order to secure one of them, the Vikings might need to use their second round pick. A running back and a defensive tackle could be the choices with the two third round picks. Texas Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez was a terrific college linebacker. I’m not sure if he’s an NFL linebacker. At worst, he’s a key special teams player. At best, he’s all-hustle, super efficient, glue player, and fan favorite. 

In December, I like the above draft. I think Mansoor Delane and Connor Lew would be immediate starters. Jadarian Price and Darrell Jackson Jr. would have early rotational roles. Jacob Rodriguez? Who knows? 

Minnesota Vikings Week 17 Superlatives

The Minnesota Vikings crushed the playoff dreams of the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day in a 23-10 win. It was a beautiful thing. The Vikings offense wasn’t beautiful. Far from it. The Vikings defense was the difference in this beautiful game. This season hasn’t been great but the team is ending it strong. The defeat of the Lions was the fourth consecutive win. Here are some of the players that made the beautiful win possible. 

Offensive Player of the Game

Jordan Addison, WR

With undrafted rookie Max Brosmer getting the start over J.J. McCarthy, the Vikings offense wasn’t good. 16 of the 23 points were set up by defensive takeaways. The first of those takeaways gave the offense the ball at the 16-yard line. Five plays later, Aaron Jones Sr scored on a one-yard plunge. The Vikings turned three other takeaways into three long field goals. The remaining points came from the lone, big offensive play. With 4:39 remaining in the game, Vikings head coach decided to use a little misdirection to attack a Lions defense that had been suffocating a limited Vikings offense the previous 55 minutes. Jordan Addison took a jet sweep 65 yards for a game-sealing touchdown. That bumped the score to 20-10. With the way the Vikings defense was playing and less than four minutes to play, there was no way the Lions could erase a two-score deficit. The Vikings made one offensive play the entire game and Addison made it count. 

Defensive Player of the Game

All of Them

The Lions entered the game with only eight turnovers in the previous 15 games. They left this game with 14 turnovers on the season. The Vikings defense took the ball from the Lions offense six times. Byron Murphy Jr. had an interception. Harrison Smith had an interception in a remarkable performance. Andrew Van Ginkel also had a great, versatile performance. He also recovered two fumbles. Murphy recovered a fumble. Jalen Redmond also recovered a fumble. The Vikings pass rush sacked Jared Goff five times. It felt like much more as the Lions quarterback was in serious jeopardy on nearly every drop back. With the offense doing so little, the Vikings needed an outstanding performance from their defense. They got it. And then some. 

Special Teams Player of the Game

Will Reichard, K

Punter Ryan Wright’s outstanding season has been in the long shadow of Will Reichard’s unprecedented season. He was perfect again against the Lions. He was perfect on two extra points. He was perfect on three field goals. All three of his field goals were from over 40 yards. Two were from over 50 yards. The two 50+ field goals gave him 11 on the season. That’s a franchise record. 

There isn’t another kicker in the league that I’d take over Will Reichard. 

Vikings - Lions

On Christmas Day, the Minnesota Vikings wrecked the playoff dreams of the Detroit Lions. It was a two-score 23-10 win. The Lions have given the Vikings fits in recent years. This win completed a season sweep.

This game was remarkable. Other than a late, singular play, the Vikings offense was terrible. With second-year quarterback J.J. McCarthy out with a hairline fracture somewhere in his passing hand, undrafted rookie Max Brosmer got the start. Much like his start against the Seattle Seahawks, Brosmer looked overwhelmed by the complexity of NFL defenses. Factoring in the yards lost on seven sacks, the Vikings netted three passing yards for the game. Three! Against the Seahawks, Brosmer threw four interceptions. Against the Lions, he threw zero. That was key. If the Vikings gave the ball back to the Lions on their terms, they should be fine. That’s because the defense had their back. 

The Lions entered this Week 17 game with only eight turnovers on the season. They left the game with 14. The Vikings defense took the ball away from the Lions six times. Max Brosmer had a rough game for a variety of reasons. His own inexperience was a big one. So was missing his starting left tackle, starting right tackle, starting center, and starting tight end. Jared Goff had a rough game for one simple reason. The Vikings Brian Flores-led defense swarmed and confused Goff for 60 minutes. He lost three fumbles. He threw two interceptions. He was sacked five times. It wasn’t just the Lions explosive passing game that the Vikings throttled. They throttled the Lions run game as well. Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are one of the league’s best running back duos. They combined for 66 rush yards on 17 carries. That’s an average of only 2.4 yards/carry. The only time the Lions offense dented the Vikings defense was a long, grueling 19-play, 80-yard touchdown drive in the second quarter. While the drive was ultimately successful for the Lions, the Vikings really made it difficult. Goff converted a third-and-16 with a 28-yard pass to Isaac TeSlaa, a third-and-nine with a 13-yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown, and a third-and-15 with a 23-yard pass to St. Brown. Credit Goff and the Lions for converting three third-and longs and a third-and-short. Those desperate conversions got them to the Vikings 12-yard line. From that point on the field, it took the Lions eight plays to finally get into the end zone. Eight plays to travel 12 yards. The Lions had to convert two fourth downs. It was an impressive drive by the Lions offense. The 80 yards was more than a quarter of their 231 total yards. It was also an impressive effort by the Vikings defense as none of those yards came easy. 

Because the Vikings offense had such difficulty moving the ball and sustaining possession, a one-score lead was always a precarious thing. The first touchdown was set up by the first takeaway by the defense. The offense only had to move the ball 16 yards for a short Aaron Jones Sr. run. Three long field goals were also set up by takeaways. 16 points were the result of great defense. After the Lions cut the Vikings precarious lead to 13-10 with 4:39 left in the game, the offense finally made a play. It was a beauty. With Max Brosmer struggling and the Lions swarming the offensive line and crushing the pocket, Kevin O’Connell called upon a little misdirection. Jordan Addison took a jet sweep handoff, left to right. 65 yards later, he dove into the end zone. In a blink, thanks to a singular offensive play, the Vikings finally had a two-score lead at 20-10. In a game dominated by defense, an offensive play ended the slim playoff dreams of the Lions.

The Minnesota Vikings have a long, strong history of great defenses. Through those years, there have been many great performances. Perhaps it’s a recency thing, this performance of the Vikings defense against an explosive Lions on Christmas Day was one of the greatest. They took away the run game. They swarmed Jared Goff. They never let him get comfortable in the pocket. The Vikings took the ball away six times from an offense that had only given it away eight times in 15 games. The explosive Lions offense had less than a handful of chunk plays. Most of those came on that long, second quarter dive. This was a remarkable game and the Vikings defense was incredible. 

This was the Vikings fourth consecutive win. It’s been a frustrating season. Little has gone as hoped. Despite that, the Vikings are ending it strong. Next up, is the final game of the season. A home against the Green Bay Packers. A win will give the Vikings a winning record at 9-8. Hopefully, J.J. McCarthy returns for that game. The Vikings must get Justin Jefferson to 1000 yards. He needs 53 yards.