Vikings Schedule to Release Next Month. Here Are the Opponents.

Dustin Baker |

Apr 9, 2022

Jeffrey Becker-USA TODAY Sports

The 2022 regular season NFL schedule should release around May 11th.

The Minnesota Vikings will seek to rebound from an underwhelming 8-9 campaign in 2021, causing the terminations of general manager Rick Spielman and Mike Zimmer.

Zimmer and Spielman talking — Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman

Replacing Spielman and Zimmer are general manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell. Both men are significantly younger than their predecessors, ushering in an era of Vikings football figured to feel markedly different.

While strength of schedule in an offseason, forecasting the upcoming year, can vary wildly in predicting difficulty, Minnesota will embark on the league’s 13th-easiest slate of opponents in 2022, per opponent’s 2021 wins and losses.

These are the Vikings opponents, although the order is not yet known:

Home Games

Arizona Cardinals
Chicago Bears
Dallas Cowboys
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Indianapolis Colts
New England Patriots
New York Giants
New York Jets

Brian O'Neill — Brian O’Neill (75), Adam Thielen (19), and the Vikings celebrate their first touchdown, which took place during the second minute of the game. Sunday, October 21, 2018 Jets

Away Games

Buffalo Bills
Chicago Bears
Detroit Lions
Green Bay Packers
Miami Dolphins
New Orleans Saints
Philadelphia Eagles
Washington Commanders

And, in theory, if all current quarterbacks wound up starting games for the opposition — a longshot, of course — these would be the Vikings QB opponents:

Josh Allen
Justin Fields (twice)
Jared Goff (twice)
Jalen Hurts
Daniel Jones
Mac Jones
Kyler Murray
Dak Prescott
Aaron Rodgers (twice)
Matt Ryan
Tua Taogvailoa
Carson Wentz
Zach Wilson
Jameis Winston

Per oddsmakers in April, Minnesota is forecasted to win about nine games, bedfellows with teams like the Cardinals and Dolphins.

If the Vikings fail to qualify for the postseason in 2022, it will be the first stretch of back-to-back-to-back seasons with no playoffs since the 2005, 2006, 2007 stretch (or the end of Mike Tice and the beginning of Brad Childress).

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).

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