Minnesota Vikings Discussion-Weekend SkolAsylum: 03-04 Jan 2026

McCarthy run TD

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Vikings Discussion & Random Thoughts

We’re at the end of the NFL regular season, as the Vikings finish the season at home against the Packers tomorrow. I’d love to see the Vikings end their season with a win and a five-game winning streak. I’m a bit concerned that J.J. McCarthy is playing on Sunday. If he truly has a fracture in his hand, I would think that he’s risking further injury by playing. Maybe one of our resident docs can chime in on this, but it seems like there’s a lot of risk with not much reward.

We’ll have the game thread up an hour before kickoff. Until then, this is the place to be!

Vikings and NFL News

J.J. McCarthy will start against the Packers on Sunday, per NFL.com.

The final Vikings vs. Packers week 18 injury report, from Vikings.com. Also, a Vikings vs. Packers game preview.

T.J. Watt is ‘excited to play’ against the Ravens as he recovers from lung surgery, per NFL.com.

From CBS Sports, the latest news and rumors on NFL and GM changes around the league.

An NFL-wide injury report from CBS Sports.

Media Selection

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SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
4 January 2026 11:05 am

Game tread is up.

Minnesota Vikings vs. Green Bay Packers Game Thread: 04 January 2026 GAMEDAY

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
4 January 2026 10:56 am

Our Inactives for today.

  • ‘TE T.J. Hockenson
  • RB Aaron Jones
  • CB Dwight McGlothern
  • WR Myles Price
  • OL Walter Rouse
  • QB Brett Rypien
  • QB John Wolford (emergency QB)
SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
4 January 2026 8:58 am

10pt favorites? I hope the Vikings win but I am not giving up over ten points to bet that.
Plus whenever I bet it just insures that my team will lose, I lesson I have learned painfully over the years.

‘The Vikings opened the week as a 5.5-point favorite, but as news has come in through the week, that number has ballooned to the point where the Vikings are now a whopping 10.5-point favorite over the Packers, according to FanDuel. The over/under on the game has not changed, as that number still rests at 36.5 points’.

JRobert
JRobert
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
4 January 2026 9:23 am

Probably because we are playing our first teamers against their third stringers. Game will hardly be like the one a month ago.

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  JRobert
4 January 2026 9:28 am

Oh I understand the logic.
I also understand the NFL wishing to keep the games close in order to sell more commercials.
I won’t bet against the NFL.

No longer New Vikings Fan
4 January 2026 5:42 am

Good game for Darnold last night, and the rest of the team held up their end too. Defense held the Niners to 3 points, the offense ran the ball 39 times for 180 yards, and of course Darnold played well as I said. Kicker missed a 26 yard field goal though. That was weird.

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
4 January 2026 9:00 am

‘missed a 26 yard field goal though’

Like missing an Extra Point at the old distance (20-21 yards), it happened sometimes but not often.
And at least it wasn’t a 27 yarder to win a playoff game.
Too Soon???

Surly Viking
Admin
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
4 January 2026 9:54 am

Sam had a very good game. Got one of the three incentives by getting 150 yards.
That Seattle defense is something to watch. Makes me sad that the Vikings can never have both sides of the ball playing well at the same time.

Running game and defense are both huge in the playoffs. While I still think the Rams are the best team, Seattle could be a tough out.

DE Viking
4 January 2026 4:53 am

My Head Coaching changes list.

New Coach For Sure
NYG
TN
LV
AZ

Better than 50/50
Mia
Cin
Clev
Atl

Surprise Changes (I’d say one of these happens)
Buff
Pitt
Ravens

FTP!!!

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  Gone fishin'
3 January 2026 11:06 pm

Not headed to the game?

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 9:47 pm

This guy is a little over his skis here. McCarthy needs 551 yards to break the 2,000 yard mark. It’s not impossible.

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 9:52 pm

JJ (QB) 550 yards?
It ‘could’ happen.
Although I would just about bet the house that it will not.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 9:39 pm

Seahawks miss a 26 yard field goal… wow.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 9:33 pm

Niners desperately need a turnover.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 9:26 pm

Darnold playing pretty solidly.

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 9:50 pm

1 out of 3 incentives is not toooo bad.

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 9:22 pm

Purdy intercepted.
Not looking good for the 49rs.

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 9:23 pm

McCaffrey screwed the pooch there…

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 9:13 pm

Darnold with the 1 yard pass, gets to 150…

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 9:12 pm

Darnold has 149 yards now…

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 9:05 pm

Darnold needs 6 more yards passing to make $500K

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 9:01 pm

Sometimes I hate the NFL…

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 9:14 pm

Peace sign equals taunting.
@makes perfect sense@

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 9:27 pm

Yep

manly-purple
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 9:37 pm

Well it for sure was. Not terrible taunting, but taunting yes.

I actually don’t blame the NFL for the fine. Watching players yap at each other’s sidelines each game would be exhausting and would get old quick.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 8:26 pm

Sam completed 77% of his passes for 98 yards in the first half. No TD’s though. Gonna need a big second half to get all those incentives.

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 8:46 pm

Get the win, it is more important-er.
Use garbage time of incentives if there is any.

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 8:52 pm

He can get three incentive checks tonight. Needs 150 yards to get to 4K, needs 3 TD’s to get to 28, and needs to get his passer rating up to 100 from 99.2.

Each incentive is $500K

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 7:57 pm

Seahawks get the stop on 4th and 1 at the 39.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 7:48 pm

Niners get the stop and then the Seahawks miss the field goal.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 7:40 pm

Eric Kendricks is playing for the Niners…

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 7:31 pm

Seahawks strike first on a 27 yard run for a TD… 7-0.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 7:20 pm

Always take the points…

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 7:29 pm

There is some pts for Seattle.

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 7:32 pm

Yep…

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 7:19 pm

Hmmmm… 4th and goal…

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 7:17 pm

Darnold really missed an opportunity there for a TD… wide open.

DE Viking
3 January 2026 7:12 pm

Love the 49ers uniforms.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 7:07 pm

Wife whipped up a batch of Swedish meatballs for the game…

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 7:22 pm

Those are good.
With The Teacher off visiting Grandbabies this weekend I took a 1/2 loaf of Italian bread that was starting to get stale, sliced it up, laid it out in a baking dish, poured a can of soup over it and then smothered it in cheese and baked it for 25m.
Surprisingly good.
Bachelor Food for the win.

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 7:33 pm

Nice!!!

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:43 pm

Bucs ran the ball 42 times tonight…

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:26 pm

NFC South will be won by a team with an 8-9 record… and maybe three teams in the Division will finish with that record.

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:54 pm

And all 4 teams in the north ‘could’ have winning records.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:23 pm

Bucs win… good game.

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:23 pm

Go Atlanta.

#grin

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 6:27 pm

Laughing… after the Falcons beat the Bucs a couple weeks ago, Cousins said to Mayfield “Now go win the South”.

He could make that happen…

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:37 pm

“Now go win the South”

Same thing Lincoln said to Gen Sherman.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:22 pm

Last play of the game…

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:22 pm

Unless Defensive penalty.

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 6:21 pm

Tampa punting with 26s left.
Not looking good for Carolina but we have seen stranger things.

18s on the 3.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:15 pm

Panthers need to get a stop here obviously. A first down pretty much seals the deal.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:14 pm

Really nice play by Mayfield on that pass to Otton for a 20 yard gain and a first down with two minutes to play.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:06 pm

Touchdown Panthers!

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:02 pm

Bryce Young has made some nice throws today.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 6:01 pm

Blocked field goal by the Panthers but down by 9.

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 5:31 pm

Hoping Tampa wins so Atlanta wins tomorrow and rip the Division Title away from them and give it back to Carolina.

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 5:34 pm

Wow… cold blooded…

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 5:35 pm

Two way tie between Carolina and Tampa goes to Tampa.
3 way tie between Carolina, Tampa and Atlanta goes to Carolina.

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 5:39 pm

I get that, but man… let Tampa win tonight so the Falcons can tear their heart out tomorrow…

DE Viking
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 5:55 pm

Why not just hope Carolina wins??

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  DE Viking
3 January 2026 6:00 pm

More drama be better.
Makes Atalanta game tomorrow worth watching.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 5:25 pm

Strong throw by Young there. Really nice.

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  Gone fishin'
3 January 2026 5:58 pm

Be careful if you go…

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 5:22 pm

This is correct… Maduro was indicted on Narco terrorism but this is another key reason Trump went and got him. He’s gonna spill the beans on how the Dems worked with him to steal the election. That is, unless he gets “Epsteined” in jail.

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  Gone fishin'
3 January 2026 5:58 pm

Yeah… it’s been a tough year for sure.

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  Gone fishin'
3 January 2026 5:22 pm

It’s a good close game. I’m enjoying it.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 4:40 pm

Bryce Young returns the favor and throws a pick. Both QB’s have a TD and pick now.

JRobert
JRobert
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 4:49 pm

Tough playing conditions, especially for handling the ball.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 4:23 pm

Money on the line…

Surly Viking
Admin
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 5:21 pm

I doubt he hits on two of those. I can see 150 passing yards though.

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  Surly Viking
3 January 2026 5:33 pm

I can see Mike McDonald at least giving Darnold some opportunity to achieve those thresholds. Open up the offense early and see if he can make some hay.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 4:15 pm

Interception by the Panthers. Mayfield never saw the defender… I guess.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 4:12 pm

Got a feeling the course is gonna be a little soft tomorrow morning.

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 4:16 pm

Soft is good for napping.

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 4:24 pm

And stopping the ball on the green nicely.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 3:56 pm

As you can see, it’s a little wet here in Tampa…

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 4:02 pm

Reminds me of the Navy-U of Cincinnati game last night in the Liberty Bowl.
That was in Memphis though, Navy toughed out a win.

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 4:11 pm

Go Middies!

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  Gone fishin'
3 January 2026 5:35 pm

Tampa is fun. I love living here.

Surly Viking
Admin
Reply to  Gone fishin'
3 January 2026 10:16 pm

Tampa is fun. I spent 6 months in Sarasota long ago as well.

Someday I will live there again….

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 3:30 pm

Just in case folks don’t know…

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 3:33 pm

”The facts will not stand in the way of a good Anti-Trump argument’.
Woke/Libs

No longer New Vikings Fan
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 3:57 pm

True

manly-purple
Reply to  SoCalMinnFan
3 January 2026 3:58 pm

Anything the guy does they hate. He could go full liberal and they’d still hate him they’re so brainwashed.

SoCalMinnFan
SoCalMinnFan
Reply to  manly-purple
3 January 2026 4:07 pm

I am not sure about that.
They sure got on their knees for the Cheneys when they though they would help get Cackles elected.
And they considered Dick the ‘Antichrist’ before Trump was Hitler.

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 3:23 pm

Laughing…

No longer New Vikings Fan
3 January 2026 2:59 pm

Exactly…

About The Author

Gone fishin'

Gone fishin'

I'm a dad, husband, Army vet, believer, and a die-hard, life-long Vikings fan from the great state of North Dakota. I've been a Viking fan dating back to 1980, I've been covering the Vikings for nearly a decade, and I founded Skoloholics in 2022. I work in real estate and property management, I love spending time with family, working in the yard, doing anything in the outdoors, and as you can tell from my username, I love fishing. SKOL!!!!!!!!!!

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