Report: Vikings Start 2023 at Home against Old Foe

The Vikings Final Injury Report: Week 14
Rich Storry-USA TODAY Sports.

One of the NFL’s favorite scheduling hobbies as of late — a tendency adored by purple and gold fans — is plopping the Minnesota Vikings at home to start the season, and according to VikingsTerritory‘s sources, the trend continues in September.

The Vikings are on deck to host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1, followed by a foreboding trip to Philadelphia four days later. Sweet and salty, indeed.

Report: Vikings Start 2023 at Home against Old Foe

Tampa Bay hasn’t traveled to Minnesota in six years, with the last experience as a beatdown at the hands of the mighty 2017 Vikings, 34-17. The Vikings embarked on the Buccaneers house in 2020 — a loss to Tom Brady and Co. — but scheduled makers are bringing the pewter team northward for the first time in six years.

Vikings Start 2023
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Here’s the full Vikings schedule, which the NFL will confirm on Thursday night, barring something goofy:

  • Week 1: Buccaneers (9/10)
  • Week 2: at Eagles (9/14, TNF)
  • Week 3: Chargers (9/24)
  • Week 4: at Panthers (10/1)
  • Week 5: Chiefs (10/8)
  • Week 6: at Bears (10/15)
  • Week 7: 49ers (10/23, MNF)
  • Week 8: at Packers (10/29)
  • Week 9: at Falcons (11/5)
  • Week 10: Saints (11/12)
  • Week 11: at Broncos (11/19, SNF)
  • Week 12: Bears (11/27, MNF)
  • Week 13: BYE
  • Week 14: at Raiders (12/10)
  • Week 15: at Bengals (TBD)
  • Week 16: Lions (12/24)
  • Week 17: Packers (12/31, SNF)
  • Week 18: at Lions (1/7)

Interestingly, the Vikings will get at a Buccaneers team navigating life without Brady for the first time since 2019. Baker Mayfield will presumably start Week 1 unless QB2 Kyle Trask does something funky this summer.

Vikings Can Deal With
Matt Krohn-USA TODAY Sports.

NFL.com ranked the Buccaneers as the NFL’s fourth-worst team after the 2023 NFL Draft. The Vikings placed at No. 16 in the same batch of power rankings.

NFL.com’s Dan Hanzus wrote about Tampa Bay, “The Buccaneers are serious about this Baker Mayfield thing, huh? Tampa Bay chose not to address the quarterback position with its eight picks in the 2023 NFL Draft, setting up a summertime camp battle between Mayfield — the No. 1 overall pick-turned-journeyman — and former second-round choice Kyle Trask. It’s not a situation that inspires an enormous amount of confidence, but it’s worth remembering that Mike Evans and Chris Godwin are still around to help things along as much as they can.”

Joe Nicholson-USA TODAY Sports.

Tampa Bay has reached the postseason in three consecutive seasons, but that’s what happens with Brady at QB1. Most pundits expect a downturn by the Buccaneeers — perhaps even a rebuild — mainly because of the Mayfield-Trask duo at the top of the roster. Tampa Bay finished 8-9 last year, somehow still reaching the playoffs before a 1st-Round exit courtesy of the Dallas Cowboys.

Minnesota owns the all-time series split over the Buccaneers with a 33-23 (.589) record.


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 Sal Spice. His Vikings obsession dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).

All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.

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