56% of the Vikings 2021 Schedule is Against Playoff Teams
Based on wins and losses in 2020, the Minnesota Vikings have the NFL’s sixth-most difficult schedule on tap for the 2021 season. No rest for the purply wicked.
The Vikings opponents for 2021 have a combined 2020 record of 137-118-1 (.537). Only the Steelers, Ravens, Bears, Lions, and Bengals have a more challenging gauntlet for the upcoming season. In breaking down next year’s slate of games, the only “easy” tests [at this juncture] are both division games versus the Lions and perhaps the Panthers. Carolina has quasi-uncertainty at the quarterback position as ex-Viking Teddy Bridgewater underperformed in his first full season as a starter since 2015. Bridgewater rode the coattails of a fantastic 2019 New Orleans Saints team, guiding the franchise to five wins and zero losses in reservist work for Drew Brees. So, the Panthers may give Bridgewater one more whirl, draft a rookie signal-caller, or mix-and-match both strategies.
Detroit will be trading longtime quarterback Matthew Stafford any day now. The front office and Stafford collectively agreed to see other people, and the 32-year-old will lead a new franchise when September arrives. His absence from the Lions should, in theory, create instability at the quarterback spot. That is not typically a blueprint for success – particularly for the Lions – but we shall see.
With the Lions and Panthers out of the way, the remainder of the schedule seems murderous. The other non-playoff teams are not push-overs. The Cardinals, Bengals, Cowboys, and 49ers fill out the rest of the schedule of teams that failed to reach the postseason in 2020. Not exactly a cakewalk forecast.
All in all, the 2021 Vikings schedule already possesses 9 games against teams that played in the playoffs during 2020. And that’s if the NFL does not add a 17th game to the rotation. By all indications, a 17-game schedule is likely happening. The versus-playoff-team percentage will fluctuate to 53% or 59% depending on the name of the opponent and if that team reached the postseason in 2020.
On the Road
The bad news first – the Vikings will travel to Baltimore, Chicago, and Green Bay for road games against teams that played postseason football in 2020. If there is a silver lining, this is it. Only three out of the nine contests are away affairs.
So long as Lamar Jackson is healthy, the game in Maryland versus the Ravens is assured to be arduous. Minnesota has a long, documented history of struggles against mobile quarterbacks – even Mitchell Trubisky at times. Lamar Jackson is the Ayatollah of mobile-quarterbacking. He essentially tallies running back statistics in addition to respectable passing numbers. His 2019 MVP award confirmed his superstardom.
The road game with the Bears at Soldier Field is interpretive for difficulty. The Vikings haven’t consistently played well in Chicago for at least 20 years. Since 2000, Minnesota is 5-16 (.238) versus the Bears in Illinois. This is a stinky record against a Chicago franchise that has experienced ups and downs during the last two decades. The Vikings should be closer to .500 at Soldier Field, but they are not.
Then, the Packers game does not inspire optimism. The Vikings have not won back-to-back games at Lambeau Field since 1992. Yes, 29 years.
At Home
Six home games in 2021 for Minnesota will go down against playoff teams at U.S. Bank Stadium. The aforementioned Bears and Packers are on the docket per tradition. The other four include meetings with the Rams, Seahawks, Browns, and Steelers.
Los Angeles may or may not have a new quarterback. Sean McVay’s team is not totally in love with veteran Jared Goff. Stafford is rumored to be in trade talks with the Rams. The defense, headlined by Aaron Donald and Jalen Ramsey, is among the league’s best.
The Seahawks will travel to Minnesota for a regular-season tryst for just the second time in 10 years. The NFL enjoys putting the Vikings on planes to Seattle for some reason. When the teams last hooked up outside of the postseason, Seattle flogged Minnesota 38-7 at TCF Bank Stadium in 2015. Finally, the Seahawks get a taste of U.S. Bank Stadium.
Kevin Stefanski has a pilgrim’s journey all set for the upcoming season. He spent about 15 years with the Vikings organization and now looks to upend the old bunch in their building with his Baker Mayfield-led Browns.
And the Steelers are the final 2020 playoff team to do battle at The Bank. The Steelers have not physically played in Minnesota since topping Brett Favre and the Vikings during the 2009 season. The last Vikings-Steelers game slated for Minnesota locality was actually held in London in 2013.
Brutal for Now – but Things Change
This itinerary is spooky, rest assured. Yet, rosters change and so do circumstances. In 2020, the Vikings stared down the barrel of a nasty road game against Deshaun Watson in Texas. The Texans were fool’s gold. From the same state, the Cowboys were theorized to be tricky with Dak Prescott slinging the pigskin. He did not play because of injury (but Dallas still won).
Moral of the story: This far in advance, schedules are always perceived contrary to eventual fruition.
With any luck, the pandemic chaos will be winding down. Homefield advantage will matter again. The Vikings will need it – six home games against playoff teams is a tall order.
