Unmissable Takeaways from the Vikings Schedule
In less than four months, the Minnesota Vikings will embark on their freshly released schedule, handing the franchise’s keys to J.J. McCarthy, their 1st-Round quarterback from the 2024 NFL Draft.
The Vikings schedule is out, and these are the main takeaways from head to toe.
Minnesota will enjoy eight home games, hit the road for seven true away games, and experience some semblance of homefield advantage in Dublin and London.
Overall, these are the five main takeaways from the 2025 schedule. They’re listed from least important to most — No. 1 = most important takeaway.
5. No Easy Spots
Aside from arguably the international games, do you see any “easy” back-to-back games on this menu?
Week 1: at CHI (MNF)
Week 2: vs. ATL (SNF)
Week 3: vs. CIN
Week 4: at PIT (I)
Week 5: at CLE (E)
Week 6: BYE
Week 7: vs. PHI
Week 8: at LAC (TNF)
Week 9: at DET
Week 10: vs. BAL
Week 11: vs. CHI
Week 12: at GB
Week 13: at SEA
Week 14: vs. WAS
Week 15: at DAL (SNF)
Week 16: at NYG
Week 17: vs. DET
Week 18: vs. GB
You do not — because they don’t exist. The Vikings have no take-it-easy back-to-backers unless one labels Week 4 and Week 5 with such a criterion.
4. Home Cooking at the End
For the first time in six years, the Vikings finish the regular season at home with back-to-back games. Of course, the opponents aren’t a cakewalk — they’ll play the Lions in Week 17 and the Packers in Week 18.
But if one assumes that Minnesota will be in a playoff chase or NFC North battle, ending the season at home puts the onus on the Vikings to prevail. It could be worse: imagine heading to Detroit and Green Bay for road contests instead of home cuisine.
3. The League Trusts J.J. McCarthy
The NFL believes J.J. McCarthy can handle Week 1 Monday Night Football, two nationally-televised foreign games, four overall primetime showdowns, and a prime slot on Christmas Day.
Roger Goodell and friends probably wouldn’t do that if McCarthy were perceived as a stiff.
Minnesota won 14 games last year and replaced the quarterback, Sam Darnold, with McCarthy, the newcomer. The NFL doesn’t think they’ll fall far from their perch.
2. The Schedule Is Murder
It cannot be rationalized any other way, at least from a May standpoint — the Vikings’ schedule is cruel, merciless, and unforgiving. Nine games will occur against teams that reached the postseason last year, and there just aren’t many cracks in the armor.
One stretch — against the Eagles, Chargers, Lions, and Ravens — is just savagery in motion. No team should be forced to endure that gauntlet, but the league is doing it to the Vikings.
By the time January rolls around, folks will know if the Vikings are legitimate because they will have played against the league’s best with very few “weeks off” per opponent caliber.
1. The European Experiment
The Vikings leaned into, embraced, and requested the two-week European trip at Dublin and London. No team has ever played back-to-backers in non-USA countries, so Minnesota will get the experiment off the ground.
Along the way, the Vikings will get rid of two guaranteed road games at Pittsburgh and Cleveland, clinging to a European homefield advantage in Ireland and England that the franchise developed over the years.
It also helps that the Steelers and Browns aren’t overly deadly competition.
PurplePTSD‘s Janik Eckardt opined on the transcontinental trip: “It surely could be a little disruptive. It’s the main point of emphasis of the glass-half-empty folks. The Vikings will spend a couple of weeks without access to their beautiful facility in Eagan, MN, and they can’t follow the usual routine.”
“Through his tenure in Minnesota, Kevin O’Connell has handled international trips with relative ease, winning both games overseas. Minnesota lost the game immediately afterwards last season, the first loss against Detroit, but it was a nail-biter. In 2022, they won the next contest.”
The Vikings have never lost a regular season or exhibition game overseas — 8-0.
He added, “It remains to be seen how the club will deal with the back-to-back week stint, as well as after returning home to the Twin Cities. The Vikings will have their bye week in Week 6, right after the journey.
“It is an advantage because of the fewer road games and the fact that they will be acclimated to the time zone, while the Browns could struggle. However, staying overseas for two weeks could also be a downside. Ultimately, it comes down to winning games, and the Vikings have been good at that over the last three seasons. We’ll see how the early-season trip impacts that.”
Overall, Vegas believes Minnesota will win around eight or nine games and finish in third place in its division.
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