- WHERE: Soldier Field (Chicago)
- WHEN: 8:15 p.m. ET
- WAYS TO WATCH: ABC, ESPN, ESPN Deportes, ESPN+, NFL+
Week 1 of the 2025 NFL season concludes with an NFC North showdown on Monday night.
The Vikings, stocked with talent across the board, will attempt to maneuver handing a championship-ready roster over to J.J. McCarthy without missing a beat after going 14-3 last year.
Meanwhile, the Bears seemingly won another offseason after hiring head coach Ben Johnson and surrounding Caleb Williams with more talent through trades and the draft. They’ll be hoping those victories over summer finally lead to results in the fall.
After sending three representative to the playoffs last season, the NFC North feels like it could finish in almost any order from top to bottom in 2025.
Monday night will start to provide a slightly clearer picture, with the Vikings or Bears making an opening statement at the other’s expense to lead us into Week 2.
Three must-know storylines
1) McCarthy finally debuts
It’s been a long time coming for J.J. McCarthy. The 2024 No. 10 overall pick looked the part in one preseason game as a rookie before suffering a season-ending knee injury. He then watched from the sidelines as Sam Darnold enjoyed a career resurgence in Minnesota and many of McCarthy’s fellow first-round draftmates — Jayden Daniels, Drake Maye and Bo Nix — impressed under center elsewhere. The Vikings didn’t pay up to keep Darnold in free agency, nor did they chase headlines by bringing in longtime foe Aaron Rodgers. Instead, head coach Kevin O’Connell committed to his young QB. McCarthy is the biggest question mark for a team that’s built to win now, especially considering he only logged 12 preseason snaps in August. Regardless, such limited usage only serves as more evidence of O’Connell’s full-fledged belief the signal-caller is ready to take over. Finally, McCarthy gets his chance to prove his coach right.
2) Johnson-Williams era begins
Caleb Williams, another of McCarthy’s draftmates, also impressed to a degree last season. His 20-6 touchdown-to-interception ratio ranked tied for fifth among rookie QBs since 1970, and he had 13 games without a pick. However, Williams also struggled with accuracy and identifying pressure, as evidenced by his 6.3 yards per attempt (33rd among qualified throwers), 62.5 completion percentage (31st), 87.8 passer rating (24th) and league-leading 68 sacks taken. Enter Ben Johnson, the orchestrator of the NFL’s most prolific offense from 2022-2024 while serving as Lions offensive coordinator. If anyone can help Williams reach his generational ceiling, it’s Johnson, a tremendous football mind with creativity out the wazoo. From a tight end room featuring rookie Colston Loveland and Cole Kmet to a cache of difference-making wideouts in DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden III, Johnson has everything he needs to propel Williams — and the Bears — to the next level.
3) Chicago’s revamped O-line vs. Vikings’ pass rush.
Ben Johnson may be the key to a Caleb Williams breakout, but Chicago’s new offensive line will be vital to helping him unlock the young QB’s talents. Things were bad last year — 68 sacks worth of bad. Those weren’t all on the protection, as Williams’ inexperience contributed to a great many, but the Bears nonetheless went all in on the trenches this offseason by signing center Drew Dalman and swinging trades for guards Jonah Jackson and Joe Thuney. Now comes the stress test, and it doesn’t get much more stressful than staring down Minnesota’s defense, which ranked fifth in points allowed and tied for fourth with 49 sacks in 2024. Jonathan Greenard and Andrew Van Ginkel, both with double-digit sacks last season, form a troublesome duo. Defensive coordinator Brian Flores is a mad scientist when it comes to disguising looks and sending blitzes. The Bears will need to jell in a hurry to withstand the heat.
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