The Minnesota Vikings have never won a Super Bowl – something fans don’t exactly forget quickly.
But after an excellent 14-3 regular season that ended with a brutal wild card loss to the Los Angeles Rams, Vikings fans will be hoping against hope that new QB, JJ McCarthy, is the team’s future – and is capable of not only matching 2024 signal caller, Sam Darnold‘s production – but improving upon it.
However, it seems that not everyone has that level of belief. Bleacher Report’s Brad Gagnon gave the Vikings just a 2% chance of winning a Super Bowl ring for the first time in franchise history.
Vikings Given Minuscule Chance At Super Bowl Success
And part of that reasoning comes down to some inductive historical trends – that rookies don’t tend to make Super Bowl appearances – ever.
“No rookie quarterback has ever started a Super Bowl, yet alone won one.” Gagnon notes, “And while J.J. McCarthy isn’t a rookie, that will essentially be the case after last year’s No. 10 overall pick missed the entire 2024 campaign due to a knee injury.
That alone has to curb your high-level expectations for an otherwise very skilled Vikings team, especially considering the strength of its division and schedule.
McCarthy has the ability to excel with a tremendous supporting cast in 2025, but a first-ever Super Bowl win seems like it’s more of a 2026 thing at this point.”
Do The Vikings Have A Realistic Opportunity To Contend For A Super Bowl
But as Gagnon explained – McCarthy is not actually a rookie; he is a second year QB. And the difference between the two is notable. Less than five years ago, a second-year quarterback by the name of Joe Burrow, who came within an Aaron Donald pressure of winning Super Bowl LVI.
Not to mention, the tides are changing with regards to young, and even rookie quarterbacks. CJ Stroud made the Divisional Round of the playoffs back in 2023. This was then one-upped by Washington Commanders then-rookie Jayden Daniels last season, when he pulled off a major upset by beating the Detroit Lions in the second round of the playoffs to set up an NFC Championship meeting with divisional-foes, the Philadelphia Eagles.
Now, McCarthy cannot immediately be given clear comparisons to either of these players, especially before he has even thrown a singular pass in a regular season game.
But there is very recent precedent for younger quarterbacks seeing massive success in the league. For a team like Minnesota, who made strides to re-enforce what was already a very strong team in the offseason, a mounted challenge for their first Lombardi Trophy should at least be in sight.
Additions like Ryan Kelly and Will Fries on the offensive line, and Jonathan Allen and Javon Hargrave on the defensive line will no doubt make the team strong and more competitive in the trenches – particularly later on in the season and in the playoffs as the weather becomes colder and the play up front starts to matter more and more.
Minnesota fans will certainly be hoping that Gagnon is wrong, and that a possible first ring is very much in sight for the Vikings.
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