The first half of the 2025 NFL regular season comes to a close this week, and the Minnesota Vikings are ready to hit the reset button.

After winning two of its first three games to start the year, the latter being a 48-10 trouncing of Cincinnati at home, Minnesota (3-4) has been limping its way toward the first-half finish line. The Vikings have dropped three of their past four games, including recent losses against the Eagles at home (28-22) and at the Chargers (37-10) on Thursday Night Football.

Many things have factored into Minnesota's current last-place positioning in the NFC North. Injuries have certainly left their mark up-and-down the roster.

Carson Wentz – who bravely battled with a torn labrum and fractured socket on his non-throwing shoulder after it was dislocated during Minnesota's Week 5 victory against the Browns in London – was placed on Injured Reserve Monday and will undergo surgery, forcing him to miss the rest of the season. In an extremely eerie and unfortunate situation, the Vikings have lost key players for either a significant portion or the remainder of the season during/immediately after their Week 8 game each of the past four seasons: tight end Irv Smith, Jr., in 2022 against Arizona (high-ankle sprain); quarterback Kirk Cousins in 2023 at Green Bay (torn Achilles); Darrisaw in 2024 at the Rams (torn ACL) and Wentz.

Now, the Vikings will turn their attention to the second half of their schedule, which is by no means easy. Three of Minnesota's next four games are division contests (at Detroit in Week 9; vs. Chicago in Week 11; at Green Bay in Week 12), with the lone outlier being a home matchup in Week 10 against the Ravens, who expect to get star QB Lamar Jackson back this week.

Despite the loss in Los Angeles and the recent slide, Minnesota didn't move much in this week's Power Rankings. Here's a look at where the Vikings landed heading into Week 9:

No. 23 (down 1 spot): Eric Edholm, NFL.com

The good news is that J.J. McCarthy appears set to return in Week 9 against Detroit after missing five straight games. The bad news is that the pass protection remains a huge issue. Carson Wentz might not have played one of his best games, but he also didn't have many clean pockets from which to work and is now on Injured Reserve. That concern will fall on McCarthy, who took nine sacks in his first two games before being hurt. The defensive worries are also mounting, as Brian Flores' group has not performed anywhere near expectations, outside of one game against the Bengals. The Vikings have one of the tougher schedules remaining, and there's a lot to get fixed.

No. 20 (down 2 spots): Gary Davenport, Bleacher Report

McCarthy has played one quarter of good football in 2025, and the Vikings will only be trotting him back out there in Week 9 in what has become something of a must-win game against the Detroit Lions.

The Week 8 score notwithstanding, the Vikings may well be better defensively this year than last. There's no shortage of offensive weapons in the Twin Cities. One of two things is true after last week's debacle: Either 2024 was a fluke, or the Vikings wasted a really good team by botching the game's most important position.

No. 15 (up 1 spot): Pete Prisco, CBS Sports

[The Vikings] have a huge division game at Detroit against the Lions. They will have McCarthy back for that one, but he has to be better than he was before the injury.

No. 22 (down 1 spot): Nate Davis, USA Today

[The Vikings] lost QBs Sam Darnold and Daniel Jones in the offseason … and have already lost more games in 2025 (four) than they did in 2024 (three). Coincidence?

No. 21 (down 1 spot): Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News

The Vikings quarterback situation hasn't gone according to plan as J.J. McCarthy must return to give the offense more of a chance with its talented receiving corps.

No. 22 (down 1 spot): Frank Schwab, Yahoo! Sports

It's already getting late for the Vikings, especially after QB Carson Wentz suffered a season-ending shoulder injury. Next up, they play at the Lions. They're in danger of being well out of the playoff race before Thanksgiving unless J.J. McCarthy can come back and save the day. That's asking a lot.

Vikings Recent Slide Creates New Benchmark

For the second time in as many years, Minnesota has lost consecutive games in Weeks 7 and 8 in the same fashion: a home loss by a one-score margin followed by a prime-time loss at SoFi Stadium in which the Vikings allowed 30-plus points. Last season, Minnesota fell 31-29 to Detroit before losing to the Los Angeles Rams 30-20.

This season also marks the 10th time Minnesota has dropped back-to-back games in Weeks 7 and 8 in franchise history (1961; 1980; 1984; 1995; 2007; 2010; 2013; 2016; 2024). Additionally, it's just the third time in team history the Vikings have fallen in consecutive games in Weeks 7 and 8 when the latter opponent is a Los Angeles-based team. Before last season, the only other instance came in Minnesota's inaugural season as a franchise in 1961 (the Vikings lost 28-10 at Green Bay in Milwaukee in Week 7 before dropping one at the Rams 31-17 in L.A. the following week).

Chargers' Harbaugh Joins Elite Minnesota Company

The Chargers 37-10 victory over the Vikings on Thursday Night Football last week created some NFL history that hasn't been seen in more than a half-century. Not by the team, but by its coach – with a Vikings connection.

John Breech of CBS Sports noted that Chargers Head Coach Jim Harbaugh became just the second member of the NFL's 60-60 club, which is reserved for quarterbacks who have won at least 60 games as both a starter during their playing career and as a head coach in the league.

Who was the first? None other than Pro Football Hall of Famer Norm Van Brocklin. Van Brocklin, who was the first head coach in Vikings history and coached the team from 1961 to 1966. He had a record of 100-36-4 as a starter with the Rams (1949-57) and Eagles (1958-60) and amassed a coaching record of 66-100-7 with Minnesota and Atlanta (1967-74), creating the 60-60 club during the 1973 season.

Harbaugh played 14 seasons in the NFL, going 66-74 as a starter. In six seasons as an NFL head coach, he has compiled a career record of 60-28-1.

You can read Breech's article here.

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