{"id":894190,"date":"2026-05-18T01:27:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-18T01:27:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/894190\/"},"modified":"2026-05-18T01:27:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-18T01:27:26","slug":"the-vikings-have-a-few-schedule-nightmares-afoot","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/894190\/","title":{"rendered":"The Vikings Have a Few Schedule Nightmares Afoot"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sportsbooks believe the 2026 Minnesota Vikings<\/a> will finish around 8-9 or 9-8 this season<\/a>, a familiar win forecast that seems to follow (haunt?) Minnesota every spring. Now, we know who Minnesota will play and when, thanks to the league\u2019s schedule release<\/a> on Thursday night. This article illuminates the nasty portions.<\/p>\n

A few trouble spots jumped off the page immediately.<\/p>\n

Ranked in ascending order, these are those gruesome spots (No. 1 = worst schedule aspect).<\/p>\n

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The Nasty Stretch Arrives before December<\/p>\n

What stands out to you on the Vikings\u2019 schedule?<\/p>\n

\"KevinMinnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O\u2019Connell reacts along the sideline after a pivotal second-quarter stretch against the Cleveland Browns<\/a> during NFL International Series action on Oct. 5, 2025, at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in Tottenham, United Kingdom. The scene captures O\u2019Connell\u2019s emotional response and urgency as momentum briefly shifted during the overseas matchup in front of an international crowd. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images.<\/p>\n

4. The Early Bye Week<\/p>\n

Nobody enjoys an early bye week, but some NFL teams just have to stomach them. Most believe the best byes are down the stretch of the regular season, perhaps in late November or early December, when a team ramps up to the final push for the postseason.<\/p>\n

Instead, the Vikings will get one of the earliest byes possible. They\u2019ll play five games and then reset just as the first chapter of the season ended.<\/p>\n

Thankfully, the club has a \u201cmini-bye\u201d after Thursday Night Football at the New England Patriots<\/a> in December \u2014 10 days of rest.<\/p>\n

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3. Two Evil \u2014 and Good \u2014 Rivals to Kick the Whole Thing Off<\/p>\n

The Vikings have started a season against the Green Bay Packers<\/a> and Chicago Bears<\/a> in a row (or vice versa) just once in franchise history \u2014 2003 when Minnesota won both contests.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s rare, but the NFL has outfitted Minnesota\u2019s schedule with two games against its foremost foes right away. In seasons past \u2014 mainly when the Bears weren\u2019t very good \u2014 this would be a nothingburger. Now, though, both the Packers and Bears could reasonably win the NFC North. They\u2019re decent-to-good squads on paper.<\/p>\n

Minnesota could\u2019ve eased into the 2026 regular season with a Week 1 or 2 game against the Miami Dolphins<\/a> or New York Jets<\/a>. Nope \u2014 it\u2019s the in-your-face main enemies for Kyler Murray<\/a> to acclimate to the franchise immediately.<\/p>\n

\"JoshGreen Bay Packers running back Josh Jacobs<\/a> (8) fights for extra yardage before being brought down by Chicago Bears defensive back Kevin Byard III<\/a> (31) during second-quarter action on Dec. 7, 2025, at Lambeau Field in Green Bay<\/a>, Wisconsin. The NFC North rivalry matchup featured physical trench play and tough defensive stops as both teams battled in cold-weather conditions. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-Imagn Images.<\/p>\n

SI.com\u2018s Jonathan Harrison on Vikings-Packers in Week 1<\/a>: \u201cThe game will be the first chance for the Vikings to likely see former Cardinals QB Kyler Murray man the Vikings\u2019 offense. Murray was signed to a one-year, veteran minimum deal in March following his release from Arizona<\/a>. The Vikings\u2019 coaching staff and front office have been adamant they see Murray in a \u201ctrue competition\u201d with J.J. McCarthy<\/a> for the team\u2019s starting quarterback role.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cAs for the Packers, they will likely be without star pass rusher Micah Parsons<\/a> for the first several weeks of the 2026 season. According to ESPN\u2019s Adam Schefter on Thursday, Parsons is a \u201ccandidate to be placed on the Physically Unable to Perform List\u201d to start the season. Parsons tore his ACL in December and is currently recovering from the injury.\u201d<\/p>\n

2. Always Thursday Night Football on the Road<\/p>\n

Once again, the NFL has lined up Minnesota to play on the road for Thursday Night Football. It\u2019ll be the fourth straight occurrence.<\/p>\n

In the last three seasons, these have been the outcomes:<\/p>\n

TNF: Eagles def. Vikings | 34-28 | Week 2, 2023
TNF: Rams<\/a> def. Vikings | 30-20 | Week 8, 2024
TNF: Chargers<\/a> def. Vikings | 37-10 | Week 8, 2025
TNF: Vikings at Patriots | TBD | Week 14, 2026<\/p>\n

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This needs course correction. Starting next year \u2014 and then likely spanning a few seasons \u2014 Minnesota is overdue for home primetime Thursday Night Football games. That\u2019s all there is to it.<\/p>\n

Daily Norseman\u2018s Christopher Gates noted<\/a> on TNF and the weather from the schedule, \u201cThe Thursday night trip to New England<\/a> in early December might be a bit tricky, as could the penultimate game of the year against the Jets. Other than that, however, Mother Nature seems like it could be on the Vikings\u2019 side this year.\u201d<\/p>\n

1. Weeks 8 thru 11<\/p>\n

Finally, the part of the schedule where you close your eyes and pray to Norse Gods:<\/p>\n

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Week 8 \u2014 at Detroit Lions<\/a>
Week 9 \u2014 vs. Buffalo Bills<\/a> (MNF)
Week 10 \u2014 at Green Bay Packers
Week 11 \u2014 at San Francisco 49ers<\/a> (SNF)<\/p>\n

Unless injuries have decimated four teams consecutively, this will be a brutal stretch for Minnesota \u2014 or any team. For example, if you asked a member of each of those teams\u2019 fan bases if that squad can win a Super Bowl<\/a> in 2026, they would reply, \u201cYes.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ChandonMinnesota Vikings cornerback Chandon Sullivan<\/a> (39) wraps up Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) during first-half action on Nov. 13, 2022, at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park, New York. The play highlighted Minnesota\u2019s aggressive defensive approach against Allen<\/a>\u2019s scrambling ability in one of the Vikings\u2019 most memorable road victories of the season. Mandatory Credit: Gregory Fisher-USA TODAY Sports.<\/p>\n

On top of that, three of the four contests are on the road. Ruthless.<\/p>\n

For the Vikings\u2019 season to feel optimistic, Kevin O\u2019Connell\u2019s team probably has to have a 4-2 record entering Week 8 at Detroit, because a 2-2 split against DET, BUF, GB, and SF would be considered a favorable outcome.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sportsbooks believe the 2026 Minnesota Vikings will finish around 8-9 or 9-8 this season, a familiar win forecast…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":894191,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2073],"tags":[857,375,53,120323,241,391,54,113,7,41,345,1519,4129,48252,6192,4827,9737,251,491,233,259,2529,1167,249,255,6,424,252,17671,15766,234],"class_list":["post-894190","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-minnesota-vikings","tag-allen","tag-arizona","tag-buffalo-bills","tag-chandon-sullivan","tag-chargers","tag-chicago-bears","tag-cleveland-browns","tag-detroit-lions","tag-football","tag-green-bay","tag-green-bay-packers","tag-j-j-mccarthy","tag-josh-jacobs","tag-kevin-byard-iii","tag-kevin-oconnell","tag-kyler-murray","tag-mandatory-credit","tag-miami-dolphins","tag-micah-parsons","tag-minnesota","tag-minnesota-vikings","tag-minnesotavikings","tag-new-england","tag-new-england-patriots","tag-new-york-jets","tag-nfl","tag-rams","tag-san-francisco-49ers","tag-thursday-night","tag-tottenham-hotspur-stadium","tag-vikings"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/116592983921550639","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894190","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=894190"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/894190\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/894191"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=894190"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=894190"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=894190"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}