Poll any Chicago Bears fan, and they'll tell you that QB Caleb Williams is the key to the NFC North this season. If he takes the developmental step under coach Ben Johnson that's expected, he'll terrorize opposing defenses and give the Bears as good of a chance as any NFC North team at winning the division.
But Williams isn't the only young quarterback whose play in 2025 will make a massive impact on who wins the North. In fact, in a recent breakdown of the biggest X-factor in every divisional race, it was Minnesota Vikings QB J.J. McCarthy who was that guy.
"McCarthy just needs to avoid egregious mistakes and put the ball in the right spots for his playmakers," Bleacher Report's Moe Moton wrote. "If he does that, the Vikings won't see much offensive drop-off from last year and remain in contention for a division title."
It seems like a bit of an undersell to suggest that all McCarthy needs to do is avoid egregious mistakes for the Vikings to remain in contention for a division title. Remember: Sam Darnold threw for 4,319 and 35 touchdowns in 2024. That's not exactly a stat line that simply avoided mistakes; Darnold was awesome, which means McCarthy would have to be pretty close to awesome, too, for Minnesota to enjoy similar success.
The Bears, meanwhile, finished last year with just five wins and a lack of competence within Halas Hall. The coaching staff was fired and replaced by Johnson, who was universally considered the top head coaching candidate in years.
The fun part of the 2025 NFL schedule is that we'll get a really good look at both teams' narratives right away in Week 1. The Bears and Vikings will square off in Week 1 on Monday Night Football, putting both Williams and McCarthy under the national spotlight.
