The Minnesota Vikings Are Going Classic Mode Twice in 2025
In 2023, the Minnesota Vikings introduced their Vikings Classic jerseys for the very first time, offering a tribute to the first era of Vikings in the 1960s and 1970s.
The debut of the jersey came in Week 1 of the season, just months after the news that legendary head coach Bud Grant, who led the Vikings to four Super Bowl appearances during that era, had passed away in March.
Minnesota also wore these jerseys in Week 12 against the Chicago Bears back in 2023 and once in 2024 for their Week 3 matchup against the Houston Texans. On Thursday, the Vikings announced their plan for the jersey during the 2025 season.
The Vikings Classic Will Be Making 2 Appearances in 2025
This year, the Vikings will be breaking out the classic jerseys twice once again.
The first time will be in Week 2 against the Atlanta Falcons with the second coming in the season finale against the Green Bay Packers.
It remains to be seen exactly what this Atlanta Falcons team looks like when that Week 2 game arrives. There is still a very strange quarterback limbo in Atlanta as Michael Penix appears to be the starter, but former Viking Kirk Cousins is still hanging around the franchise.
Luckily for Atlanta, it appears that they will not have to deal with a holdout situation with tight end Kyle Pitts, who is entering the final year of his contract and has shown up to training camp.
On the other side of the ball, the Vikings’ revamped offensive line will have a major test against a pass rushing group that includes veterans like Leonard Floyd, Kaden Elliss, and Arnold Ebiketie along with rookies Jalon Walker and James Pearce.
The NFC South has been owned by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers over the past half decade, but perhaps the Falcons can get in the mix and break things up if the cards fall their way.
Then, there is nothing that needs to be said to hype up the season finale other than “it’s a home game against the Packers.”
Add in the fact that it very well could be a matchup with a playoff spot or even a division title on the line, and it promises to be pure cinema. Hopefully it works out better for Minnesota this time around than it did last year when they visited Detroit in Week 18.
This season is a tough one to predict for the Packers. On the surface, Green Bay looks like a very strong team. They finished 11-6 last year, but many of those wins were against lesser teams. In fact, they went 3-5 against teams that finished above .500, and then they were immediately bounced in the Wild Card round by the eventual Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
That being said, Green Bay added what looks like a stud receiver in Matthew Golden, solidified the offensive line with Aaron Banks, and finished the dramatic saga with Jaire Alexander, replacing him with Nate Hobbs.
The Packers, like the Vikings, likely will be a strong playoff contender again in 2025, but also like the Vikings, they could see some bumps in the road. We’ll see where both teams end up going into that Week 18 game.
The Vikings will also be wearing their Winter Warrior jerseys in Week 17, a Christmas Day game against the Detroit Lions.
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference helped with this article.
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