Vikings Declared Football Geniuses
In Weeks 4 and 5, the Minnesota Vikings will become the first franchise in NFL history to play games abroad in back-to-back weeks.
For their schedule open-mindedness, some are calling the Minnesota Vikings “geniuses,” which is not a bad thing.
The team will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers in Dublin, Ireland, and the Cleveland Browns in London, England.
And some think that’s sheer genius.
Vikings’ Embrace of International Trip Is … Genius
CBS Sports‘ Jeff Kerr sized up the NFL schedule after the release last week, and he called the Minnesota’s back-to-backer in Europe a “genius” maneuver.
Kerr explained, “The Vikings playing back-to-back International Series games is genius. The Vikings are going to be the first team in NFL history to play consecutive International Series games in two different countries, first playing the Steelers in Dublin followed by the Browns in London.”
“This appeared to be a significantly unfair advantage for the Vikings, but it’s actually a stroke of genius. Minnesota has to play nine road games in 2025 and both International Series games are actually road games. The Vikings don’t even have to give up a home game while playing overseas.”
Including exhibition games over the years, Minnesota is 8-0 outside the United States’ borders.
Kerr added, “Minnesota is playing back-to-back International Series games, followed by a bye week after being overseas. The Vikings can plan a two-week trip for Ireland and England, so they don’t have to worry about traveling back and forth while getting acclimated to that time zone.”
“The rest of the schedule is a lot to be desired, but at least the Vikings have a break with their nine road games thanks to how the NFL devised their International Series slate. Playing two of these games isn’t the worst thing in the world.”
Vikings Wanted It This Way
The cool part? Minnesota wanted it this way; the team’s ownership embraced it.
Head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters last week that his team welcomed the challenge of Dublin and London consecutively — worked with the NFL to make it happen — banking on quasi-homefield advantage that would not have been provided in Pittsburgh or Cleveland.
So, Minnesota will have eight home games in 2025, seven real away contests, and two with pseudo homefield advantage in Dublin and London.
A Precedent Setter
Because no organization has attempted the endeavor, the league will turn to Minnesota for precedent.
That is — if Minnesota exits the international road trip with a win or two, well, teams might seek the schedule perk in 2026 and beyond. For some fans, playing internationally is a turn-off, as that crowd claims games should exclusively be held in America.
The Vikings will do the opposite, subsuming the unknown and seeing where the trip takes them per wins and losses.
Sink or Swim
Whether Kerr is right about the Vikings’ “genius” mentality is really a sink-or-swim endeavor.
O’Connell and Co. could seamlessly win both games — per the quarterbacks on the Steelers and Browns’ depth charts, both games should be winnable — and Minnesota will look like a savant. Losing, however, would discourage the team from welcoming a similar trip in the future. The same might apply for 31 onlooking teams.
In fact, Minnesota is an ingenious guinea pig.
Another CBS Sports Take
Another analyst at CBS Sports, John Breech, added about the Dublin-London affair: “Vikings making international history. This will mark the third straight season that an NFL team is playing back-to-back international games, but the Vikings will be making history because they’ll be doing it in two different countries, which has never been done before.”
“After facing the Steelers in Dublin in Week 4, the Vikings will face the Browns in London in Week 5. In both 2023 and 2024, the Jaguars played back-to-back games in London, but they only played in one country.”
From a May perspective, oddsmakers favor Minnesota to win both foreign showdowns — a 1.5-point favorite over the Steelers and seven over the Browns. Minnesota won’t play either team at their respective stadium until 2033, marking a 24-year drought in Cleveland and 17 years for Pittsburgh.
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