Latest news with #ConnorOrr
USA Today
a day ago
- Sport
- USA Today
Minnesota Vikings predicted to take a step back in 2025 by Sports Illustrated
Predicting what will happen during an NFL season is like predicting the weather in the northeast; it is hardly done accurately. Injuries pop up, players have something click, and they perform above average, and sometimes players start to drop off. It all happens over the course of a season, and the results come over the stretch of 17 games. At Sports Illustrated, their very own Connor Orr took on the task of predicting the entire NFL season. All 272 games, for all 32 franchises. The end result is one that not every fan base will be happy about, such as the Minnesota Vikings' one. Orr projects the Vikings to go 10-7 and earn a Wild Card spot. He explains it all, writing, "Arguably the most difficult projection, the Vikings are coming off a 14-win season and are replacing a veteran in Sam Darnold with J.J. McCarthy, who is essentially a rookie. McCarthy could—and should, ultimately—be better than Darnold. But is he now? The Vikings were also buoyed last season by a generationally good defense. Those are also hard to sustain, even though DC Brian Flores is in a renaissance period in terms of creativity. So, when in doubt, try to hit it down the fairway. . .I'm sure Vikings fans aren't going to be pleased, the season has to be uneven to reflect the unevenness of the young starting QB." For what it is worth, the Lions also go 10-7, but he has the Vikings losing to them, so no division title once again for this team. It may not be fun to think about, but most predictions we are seeing for this team are a step back from the 14-win season we just saw. That is okay, this team is in a Super Bowl window, but it is far from closing even after one season.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Sport
- Yahoo
Orr's annual NFL predictions has Packers finishing 9-8, missing playoffs in 2025
A pair of predictions for the 2025 NFL season -- one from Nate Davis of USA Today, and another from Connor Orr of -- highlight the range of possible outcomes for the Green Bay Packers this year. Last week, Davis predicted the Packers would go 12-5, win the NFC North and run through gauntlet of the NFC playoffs before losing to the Baltimore Ravens in the Super Bowl. Obviously, a title is the goal, but the franchise's first Super Bowl appearance since the 2010 season is something bordering on a best-case scenario for 2025. However, Orr wasn't nearly as optimistic. For his annual 272-game prediction at Orr had the Packers finishing 9-8 and missing the playoffs completely. From Orr: "This Packers team has a streaky potential to me. I think there could be weeks when this offense is white hot and weeks where it looks out of rhythm—a bit like the 2023 team that had longer NBA-like runs of brilliance and confusion. I did want to reflect it all coming together offensively toward the end of the season with two consecutive wins over very good defenses in Baltimore and Minnesota—an acknowledgement that when this offense is fully understood and coherent, it's going to be really good." Orr had the Packers starting 2-2, losing three straight games coming out of the bye, winning four straight games after falling to 2-5 and then laboring through a 1-3 stretch before finishing with wins over the Ravens and Vikings. That's about as streaky as it gets for a 9-8 team. But 9-8 wasn't good enough to make the NFC playoffs. Orr had the Lions winning the division at 10-7 and the Vikings getting in as a wildcard team at 10-7. The Rams and Commanders also got in as wildcard teams at 10-7. Last year, Orr predicted the Packers would finish 12-5, with losses to the Eagles (in the opener), Lions (twice), Bears (in the finale) and Rams. He also got all four division winners right and correctly had the Packers as a wildcard team in the NFC. The Packers will hope Orr's predictive powers come up short in 2025. This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Orr's annual NFL predictions has Packers finishing 9-8, missing playoffs in 2025
