Our Official Prediction for Vikings-Packers to Close Out 2025

The Minnesota Vikings’ season will end on Sunday, taking on the Green Bay Packers in a game that will resemble preseason format, as neither club has anything to play for besides pride. The purple team will either end the campaign on a five-game win streak with a right-side-up 9-8 record or a losing mark for the second time in the Kevin O’Connell era. Our writers predict the former.

Odds favor Minnesota because of the Packers’ skeleton crew, and our writers basically agree with sportsbooks.

J.J. McCarthy will make his 10th career start, and our writers believe Minnesota will move to 6-4 on his watch.

Vikings-Packers Score Predictions, the Spread, and the McCarthy Factor

If the Vikings win, O’Connell will have at least one five-game win streak in every season of his career in Minnesota.

Writer Predictions

Probably because Green Bay is on deck to rest most starters while Minnesota plays its main core, our contributors pick the Vikings to prevail. Here’s how the panel sees the final score.

Gucciardi was the only VikingsTerritory writer to predict a Vikings win on Christmas Day. The rest of the group did not expect Detroit to furnish six turnovers.

Wes Johnson noted on this week’s game, “In a game that doesn’t mean much for either team, the Vikings are almost assured to walk away with a victory. Flores defense should confuse Clayton Tune, and the Vikings offense should do just enough against a Packers team looking for health as they enter the playoffs.”

Tony Schultz offhandedly remarked, “Clayton Tune? Come on. I hope Harrison Smith has another sack and INT. That would be the final swipe of icing on this crap cake year.”

Almost End-of-Year Standings

Here’s a look at how everyone has fared this season at picking wins and losses:

It was an unusually tricky year to predict the Vikings, mainly because of the quarterback inconsistency. Starting Monday, Minnesota will have a few months to decide how to proceed at the quarterback spot, either rolling with J.J. McCarthy, finding a steady backup, or going deep-sea fishing for Kyler Murray, Lamar Jackson, or Joe Burrow if those men become available via trade.

The Collective Score Prognostications

Oddsmakers believe Minnesota will defeat Green Bay by 10 points. The spread has ballooned by three after head coach Kevin O’Connell announced that McCarthy would indeed start. He battled a hand injury last week and didn’t play against the Lions.

Our staff collectively thinks the Vikings will beat the Packers by a score of 24-13.

Other Theories

SI.com‘s Joe Nelson forecasted a beatdown by Minnesota to the tune of 48-3.

He explained, “With nothing to play for, the Packers aren’t going to risk any key players. That means Clayton Tune actually might have a hard time setting a new career-high for passing yards in a game, which stands at 58 from his 2023 performance in a 27-0 loss at Cleveland as a member of the Cardinals.”

“The bigger question might be if Tune can do just enough to set a new mark for passing yards in a season. Having thrown for 8 yards this season (same as he totaled in 2024), Tune needs to reach 55 passing yards Sunday to eclipse his career-best 62 passing yards during the 2023 season.”

Tune has started one game previously in his career (for the Arizona Cardinals) and produced a Max Brosmer-style output. In other words: shield your eyes.

Nelson added, “I don’t think he’s going to get there. Meanwhile, J.J. McCarthy will throw for five touchdowns, doing just enough to secure the QB1 job in 2026, only to crash back to Earth as the Vikings enter a long phase of mediocrity that lasts until the Earth is struck by the asteroid Apophis in 2029. Sad.”

NFL.com’s contributors also picked Minnesota across the board.

Wide receiver Justin Jefferson notably needs 53 yards to keep his 1,000-yard streak alive.