The 5 Best Games on Vikings 2024 Schedule
The Minnesota Vikings will play nine home games in 2024 and eight showdowns on the road, though one home game is technically in London. Schedule makers dropped the 17-game agenda for Minnesota and 31 other teams this week, with formal regular season festivities kicking off September 5th.
Minnesota will hope to improve on its 7-10 record in 2023, a season ravaged by quarterback injuries.
The 5 Best Games on Vikings 2024 Schedule
At first glance, these are the five best games on the schedule for entertainment value, so get your red pens and highlighters out. They’re ranked in ascending order of excitement (No. 1 = most exciting).
5) Week 2 vs. San Francisco 49ers (Sep. 22)
The 49ers will seek vengeance in Week 2 after an unexpected beating by the Vikings on Monday Night Football last October. In fact, that was the last full game Kirk Cousins would ever play for Minnesota.
San Francisco is once again a Super Bowl darling, and if Minnesota can hang tough — with former 49er Sam Darnold at the helm or rookie J.J. McCarthy — folks will realize the 2024 Vikings are not a pushover.
4) Week 3 vs. Houston Texans (Sep. 29)
Minnesota will face a litany of friends on this Sunday afternoon: Danielle Hunter, Stefon Diggs, Case Keenum, and Kris Boyd. Meanwhile, Houston is suddenly the real deal, reaching the AFC’s Divisional Round during the last postseason tournament. Kevin O’Connell’s team could be fresh off a defeat by the 49ers, so this game may have some urgency.
Thankfully, it’s at home, and no team should wipe Minnesota off the map at U.S. Bank Stadium.
3) Week 17 vs. Green Bay Packers (Dec. 29)
When the Packers and Vikings locked horns at U.S. Bank Stadium last year, the playoffs were on the line, and Minnesota played like UFLers. It’s rare for the Vikings to perform poorly at home against Green Bay in consecutive seasons. Perhaps this one can flow into the win column.
What’s more, J.J. McCarthy could make his first start versus the most hated foe in this contest.
2) Week 7 vs. Detroit Lions (Oct. 20)
This one can be electrifying for one reason: it might be the game when J.J. McCarthy takes over — and possibly the return of T.J. Hockenson from his ACL recovery.
Both theories are speculative in mid-May, but Week 7 feels like a reasonable time, fresh off a bye, for McCarthy and Hockenson to see the field. Coincidentally, Detroit is now just as much of a rival as the Bears and Packers.
1) Week 14 vs. Atlanta Falcons (Dec. 8)
This is the one. Kirk Cousins returns to U.S. Bank Stadium, his first time at the joint as an opponent. Cousins’ Washington Commanders were 1-1 versus Minnesota in 2016 and 2017, but both games occurred in Landover, Maryland.
Cousins has encountered a few road bumps in Atlanta, from tampering to Michael Penix Jr.’s introduction to the team. Still, he’ll likely be the QB1 for the Falcons in December and face the team he led for six years. It’s must-see television for Vikings fans.
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,’ Basset Hounds, and The Doors (the band).
All statistics provided by Pro Football Reference / Stathead; all contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.
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