Top Vikings Rumor Hits Boiling Point
The rumors about the Minnesota Vikings’ travel overseas in 2025 may be correct.
Top Vikings Rumor Hits Boiling Point
The NFL will formally release the 2025 regular season schedule on May 14th, but credible sourcing hasn’t been shy in suggesting two games across the pond for the purple team.
And with the release five days away, it feels increasingly likely that Minnesota will play back-to-back games in Dublin, Ireland, and London, England.
At Dublin & London Consecutively Hits Fever Pitch
The rumor claiming the Vikings could play in Europe twice — two times in two weeks — turned white hot within the last two weeks, and it may be flat-out true.
WideLeft‘s Arif Hasan, formerly of VikingsTerritory, tweeted Thursday, “Hearing that the Vikings will be playing internationally in back to back weeks: at Steelers Week 4 in Dublin at Croke Park and at Cleveland Week 5 in London at Tottenham.”
Star Tribune‘s Ben Goessling piled on: “From what I’ve heard over the past couple weeks, it appears likely the Vikings will play back-to-back international games this fall. They have road games against the Steelers and Browns this year; the Steelers host in Dublin and the Browns are in London. It would be the Vikings’ fifth trip to London, and third in four years. They would keep all eight home games at U.S. Bank Stadium this year.”
Fans should fully expect this Dublin-London doubleheader to come to fruition. It’s no longer a zany theory.
Steelers in Ireland?
Against Pittsburgh, Minnesota would likely face Aaron Rodgers if he ever buckles down and signs a contract with the Steelers. The parties have flirted for the last two months, and the saga has reached a turning point for Rodgers: “If not the Steelers, then where?”
Otherwise, the Steelers would turn to Mason Rudolph for QB1 responsibilities, followed by a long-term lottery ticket in Ohio State’s Will Howard, whom Pittsburgh pulled out of the NFL draft two weeks ago.
Minnesota would also face an old friend, Mike Tomlin, who defensively coordinated the purple team in the mid-2000s before taking the big job in Pittsburgh about 20 years ago.
Browns in London Week 5?
At London versus the Cleveland Browns would be the mini-shocker.
Why? Well, Minnesota just played in London last year, defeating the aforementioned Rodgers and his club at the time, the New York Jets. It’s rather unusual for a team not called the Jacksonville Jaguars, a franchise with rich ties to England, to play back-to-back showdowns in London.
Still, Minnesota’s defense would probably face Joe Flacco or Kenny Pickett in Week 5, unless rookies Shedeur Sanders or Dillon Gabriel surprisingly scale the depth chart in the next five months.
Depending on the lay of the land in the NFL by Weeks 5 and 6, Minnesota has a decent shot at being favored in both international trysts.
Some Fans Unimpressed
Naturally, because complaints are the nature of the beast, some fans are unimpressed with the notion of two overseas contests in as many weeks. They claim it “screws” the Vikings, disallowing them from sleeping in their beds, disrupts routines, and makes for a lousy viewing experience at 8:00 am in the American Central Time Zone.
The naysayers should take solace, however, knowing that two purple road games would occur with neutral crowds, and in fact, could morph into miniature home games per fan persuasion.
International play also builds a team’s brand, which is pretty fantastic for Zygi and Mark Wilf’s franchise.
Janik Eckardt on MIN in Overseas Games
At our partner site, PurplePTSD.com, Janik Eckart recently wrote, “Back to the roots has been a good thing for the organization, though. Overseas has been a perfect spot for the Vikes to steal some victories. In four trips to London, Minnesota has come out victorious four times, most recently against long-time nemesis Aaron Rodgers and his Jets last season.”
“In the upcoming campaign, that trip could be slightly different, hopefully with the same result. The Vikings have been rumored to head to Dublin, Ireland, this time. The Vikings have met the Steelers overseas before. In 2013, the Adrian Peterson-led Vikings triumphed over the Steelers. The Vikings also beat the Cleveland Browns in 2017, the New Orleans Saints in 2022, and the Jets last year. All in London.”
It’s worth noting that the Vikings have never lost an overseas game — 4-0.
Eckardt added, “If the Dublin game is in Week 4, and the Vikings would then head to London, they would face the Cleveland Browns there. Both games would be official road games for the purple franchise. Ironically, the Steelers might employ quarterback Rodgers at that point. If that game indeed takes place in Dublin and Rodgers is signed by then, the future Hall of Famer would encounter the Vikings in Europe’s Northwest in back-to-back years.”
“Pittsburgh has never finished a regular season with a losing record under head coach Mike Tomlin, who previously coordinated Minnesota’s defense in 2006.”
Some fans were also a bit ticked because road games at Pittsburgh and Cleveland offered quasi-affordable travel, tickets, and lodging. European games do not.
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