The Vikings have reached their Week 6 bye after a wild first five weeks of the season that included an incredible comeback at Chicago, a disappointing home debut against Atlanta, an easy-breezy against Cincinnati for Legends Weekend and a split of an international double dip with a loss to Pittsburgh in Dublin and a come-from-behind effort against Cleveland in London.
That last one was particularly critical for Minnesota in the 16-team NFC that has only four teams with three or more losses on the season.
Since 1990, when the NFL expanded to six playoff teams per conference, teams that opened 3-2 have made the playoffs 50.3 percent of the time. In that same span, teams that opened 2-3 made the playoffs 22.3 percent of the time.
So much of the season is yet to be written, and a post-bye gauntlet awaits, but here are six major points about the 2025 Vikings at their Week 6 bye.
2 QBs 5 weeks in | by Lindsey Young
It isn't super common for a team to sign its backup quarterback less than two weeks before the start of the regular season.
And if that happens, it's even less likely the new QB will be starting for the team by Week 3.
The Vikings had both of the above happen this year, when they carried over just J.J. McCarthy and Max Brosmer from their training camp roster and opted to sign veteran Carson Wentz on Aug. 24.
McCarthy started against the Bears and Falcons but suffered a high-ankle sprain during Minnesota's home loss to Atlanta. The shorthanded Vikings turned to Wentz, and he has since started three games, helping the team he grew up rooting for go 2-1 in that span.
Vikings Head Coach Kevin O'Connell is no stranger to navigating changes at the QB position, as he saw four different passers start during the 2023 campaign. O'Connell has appreciated Wentz's experience and smarts — and a heavy dose of grit — over a trio of contests in which he's completed 69 of 100 passes for 759 yards, five touchdowns and two interceptions. His passer rating through those games is 99.5.
Wentz played through an injured left (non-throwing) shoulder during the second half of Sunday's game in London, and O'Connell said this week he's undergoing further testing. Simultaneously, McCarthy is returning to practice and ramping up heading into and coming out of the bye.
The Vikings have seen production from two quarterbacks, both of whom have met adversity. Minnesota's QB situation is likely to be a conversation starter.
Backup plans deployed across the roster | by Craig Peters
QB health is obviously important to the overall success of a football team, but that position is far from the only one that's been bitten by the injury bug in 2025.
The offensive line has been ravaged the most considering the planned initial starting five is yet to take a snap together in a game. Christian Darrisaw (knee recovery from last year), Donovan Jackson (wrist) and Ryan Kelly (concussion protocol) have been unavailable for two full games, and Brian O'Neill suffered a knee injury during Week 4 that will sideline him for a bit.
That's seven full starts out of a possible 25 based on the Week 1 depth chart.
The Week 1 first-team offense has had 17 starts missed because of injury out of a possible 55, and the first-team defense has had nine complete games missed by Week 1 starters.
Put another way? Receiver, right guard and tight end are the only positions where offensive starters have not missed games due to injuries.
Minnesota's defense has been less ravaged by injuries, but Blake Cashman (four games), Andrew Van Ginkel (three) and Harrison Smith (first two of season) are key pieces. Cashman is making progress on his hamstring injury suffered in Week 1, and Eric Wilson has provided solid play in his stead. Van Ginkel and Smith played sparingly against the Bengals in Week 3 but helped Minnesota cruise to a 48-10 victory.
Chasing evasive takeaways | by Rob Kleifield
This time a year ago, the Vikings defense was the litmus test for offenses, forcing on average 2.6 turnovers through five games. They were opportunistic, cashing in a couple picks (h/t Andrew Van Ginkel), and pests in the secondary, with multiple INTs of C.J. Stroud, Jordan Love and Aaron Rodgers.
Gulp.
The only quarterback Minnesota's defense has intercepted five games into 2025 is Jake Browning.
Worse yet, excluding the Week 3 rout of Cincinnati, in which Isaiah Rodgers made two house calls and forced two fumbles, and Joshua Metellus added an interception to a frenzied scene of five takeaways, the Vikings defense has forced a fumble after a catch by Falcons WR Drake London, and recovered one via a last-ditch lateral on the final play of the game at Chicago. In other words, Minnesota's defense has stolen the ball twice in its four other games. Overall, the Vikings are averaging 1.4 takeaways per outing.
But only 0.5 sans the flash-in-the-pan performance against the Bengals.
Minnesota's seven takeaways over its first five games is good for the second-most in that span of O'Connell's tenure. More notable than the absent football magnetism is the team's losing turnover margin (minus-2); the Vikings comeback in London was O'Connell's fifth career win in which Minnesota had more turnovers than takeaways.
(O'Connell is 18-2 when his team protects the football better than opponents protect against turnovers.)
With that in mind, there's a key factor working to Minnesota's disadvantage. Opposing quarterbacks, save for a few longer-developing plays, are releasing the ball at a quick index, which is hurting Minnesota's sack numbers and takeaway opps, since pressure is a defensive back's best friend. Right now, opponents are taking extreme caution and getting rid of the rock before the pass rush gets home.
Aaron Rodgers is the premier example, averaging an NFL season-best 2.17 seconds from snap to pass, per Next Gen Stats, when Pittsburgh outlasted Minnesota. Browns rookie Dillon Gabriel was fast with it too (2.54 avg.).
Young bucks showing up on d-line | by Lindsey Young
The Vikings signed veterans Javon Hargrave and Jonathan Allen in free agency, but younger guys — Jalen Redmond, Levi Drake Rodriguez and rookie Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins — have made splash plays when rotating in on the defensive line.
Rodriguez has four tackles for loss through five games, including a pair of TFLs in the Vikings 48-10 rout of Cincinnati. According to analytics site Pro Football Focus, the second-year player has been one of Minnesota's better d-linemen against the run, receiving an overall rush defense grade of 67.4.
The only defensive lineman to grade higher than Rodriguez against the run has been Redmond (69.3), a reliable presence in Brian Flores' defense who has shown up against both the run and pass.
Originally an undrafted rookie who signed with the Panthers in 2023, Redmond joined the Vikings last season and played in 13 games. He enters this season's bye having started all five of Minnesota's contests of 2025 and has 3.0 sacks, 14 tackles, four tackles for loss, three quarterback hits, a pass defensed and a forced fumble.
Redmond's three sacks have unfortunately occurred during the Vikings pair of losses, but his impact was felt, nonetheless. His forced fumble against the Bengals, recovered by Allen, accounted for one of five takeaways that game.
Ingram-Dawkins has seen a little less time (98 snaps) in his debut season than the rest of the group, but he's been noticeable when on the field. He batted down a Caleb Williams pass intended for Rome Odunze in Week 1, and he notched his first NFL sack Week 5 when he took down Browns rookie Dillon Gabriel.
Penalty-palooza | by Craig Peters
Through five weeks, the Vikings are the NFL's most penalized team.
According to nflpenalties.com, Minnesota has had 44 infractions counted against the squad including a whopping 21 in its first two home games where crowd noise isn't a problem.
New England, the New York Giants and Denver have each had 43 penalties counted against their squads.
The 44 flags drawn have resulted in 337 yards of mark-offs and include a league-leading 20 pre-snap penalties, which can and need to be improved on the other side of the bye.
In other instances, the damage done has been far greater than the yards marked off because the penalties have negated large punt or kick returns. A holding call this past Sunday nullified a 47-yard gain on a pass from Carson Wentz to Jalen Nailor in the second quarter. That penalty didn't add to the count because it was offset by a penalty on Cleveland. The down was replayed, but Minnesota punted.
A potential sign of progress occurred in Week 5, however. After having six penalties count in the first half, the Vikings only had one (a hold during a 19-yard run) count in the second half.
A team with narrow margins in a highly competitive league will best serve itself by reducing the number of penalties after the bye.
Power of the 'Invisible Presence' | by Rob Kleifield
If energy is contagious, which it is, then the right energy is momentous.
Now is a good time to remind: Vikings players and coaches possess an outlook, commitment and focus, all the right energy, to learn from their 3-2 start and blossom as a unit on the other side of the bye week.
Although injuries and a near fortnight overseas have taxed the team, and themes including penalties, and a leaky run defense have worsened some situations, there's more than one reason to keep believing.
One is enough, though, because it wields the power to impact outcomes and win games.
The Vikings have high-character, positive personnel with a tremendous appetite for more, hence the team's motto, adopted this past offseason after Jonathan Greenard vocalized it – "More is Required."
Immediately after the comeback over Cleveland, which featured a makeshift offensive line pitching an almost perfect game against arguably the best defensive player in the league in Myles Garrett, and the defense stiffening on four straight series in the fourth quarter to give Wentz and the Vikings elite cast of skill players a chance, O'Connell shared a message with media members that might've confused some listeners, but likely inspired everyone who has ever been a part of a team in athletics, a business or family.
Here's how O'Connell phrased the power presiding over Minnesota (even more than 4,000 miles from home):
"Our locker room is just about the right stuff. It's hard to explain. We call it the invisible presence, and it's something that needs to be built and carved and shaved to each individual team every single year, but it's important, and it's something that matters. And I'm sure there's going to be people that listen to that and think that's the strangest thing they've ever heard. But so be it. It matters to the Minnesota Vikings."