Vikings List of 2023 Opponents Is Official
Dustin Baker
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The dark underbelly of a marvelous Minnesota Vikings season played out after week 18 — the team will face a first-place schedule in 2023.
That’s how it goes for teams at the top of divisions, and Minnesota will indeed encounter a trickier schedule in 2023 than in 2022 (on paper, anyway). The Vikings won the NFC North for the first time since 2017, will visit the playoffs for the first time since 2019, and conducted the best season from a first-year head coach in franchise history. Minnesota finished 13-4 this season, a five-game improvement from 2021– the season that caused the franchise to move on from its general manager and head coach.
Vikings List of 2023 Opponents Is Official
Accordingly, with the regular season in the books, all the Vikings opponents have solidified in 2023. Next season will feel a bit different — and more challenging — because Minnesota will play nine road games and eight home games. It was an “NFC year” in 2022, so the Vikings played nine home games en route to the division crown.
The following list of opponents will not change and is totally locked in for Kevin O’Connell’s sequel season. These are the home opponents:
- vs. Chicago Bears
- vs. Detroit Lions
- vs. Green Bay Packers
- vs. Kansas City Chiefs
- vs. Los Angeles Chargers
- vs. New Orleans Saints
- vs. San Francisco 49ers
- vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
These are not in order of date.
The home docket is highlighted by two AFC teams — the Chiefs led by Patrick Mahomes and the Chargers by Justin Herbert — because a) those quarterbacks have taken the league by storm b) the Chiefs and Chargers will be the final two “new” teams to visit U.S. Bank Stadium. If you’re a regular attendee of Vikings home games and it feels weird to see Kansas City and Los Angeles on the menu, that’s because they’ve never entered the stadium as a regular season opponent.
Here’s the road schedule for 2023:
- at Atlanta Falcons
- at Carolina Panthers
- at Chicago Bears
- at Cincinnati Bengals
- at Denver Broncos
- at Detroit Lions
- at Green Bay Packers
- at Las Vegas Raiders
- at Philadelphia Eagles
These are not in order of date.
Compared to the home platter — and from a January 2023 birdseye view — this road group isn’t as daunting. It’ll be back-to-back trips to Philadelphia for the Vikings, and the 2022 date between the teams did not end favorably for Minnesota. The Vikings will also get showdowns with the new-look Broncos and Raiders, although folks aren’t too sure at this point on the calendar what the “new looks” will be.
Since U.S. Bank Stadium opened in 2016, the Vikings hold the NFL’s fourth-best homefield advantage, winning 69% of games at the glass palace. Only the Chiefs, Packers, and Patriots are better at home in the last seven seasons. On the other hand, Minnesota is the league’s 13th-best team on the road, finding victories in away games 49% of the time.
The Vikings host a playoff game this weekend versus the New York Giants and are favored by three points to advance in the postseason tournament.
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).
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