Overreacting: How tough does the Vikings' schedule look now?
The Vikings are 0-1. They could be 0-2 after playing Thursday night in Philly, then the high-powered Chargers come to Minneapolis. To say the Vikings are standing on the edge of a cliff is an understatement because the upcoming schedule still looks brutal.
There are 16 games to go; here's a breakdown of games the Vikings will struggle to win based on what we saw in Week 1.
- Hardest to win: at Eagles, Chiefs, 49ers, at Bengals, at Lions
- Could go either way: Chargers, at Packers, Packers, Lions
- Should win: at Falcons, Saints, at Broncos, at Raiders
- Comfortable win: at Panthers, at Bears, Bears,
Weeks 2 and 3 are very tough
The Eagles at home on Thursday night is a potential nightmare scenario for the Vikings, especially with Christian Darrisaw and Garrett Bradbury dinged up. If they don't play, it could be a nightmare. If they do play, they won't be 100% and they're facing what might be the best defensive line in football. Then the Chargers, who put up 34 points in a loss to the Dolphins, visit Minneapolis in Week 3. This. Is. Tough.
In our 2023 predictions, we had the Vikings losing to Philly and beating the Chargers.
Related: Jalen Carter, Eagles D-line seems likely to destroy Vikings O-line
First surefire win is Carolina?
Week 4 at Carolina should be a win for the Vikings. The Panthers scored just 10 points against an average Atlanta team and the offensive weapons Bryce Young has at his disposal – Adam Thielen, Jonathan Mingo, Hayden Hurst and Miles Sanders – aren't anything to write home about. This should be a Vikings win, even if they're 0-3.
Hellacious Weeks 5-8
Let's say the Vikings beat Carolina and they're 2-2 or even 1-3. The pressure will be on regardless and they'll be tasked with beating Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs in Minneapolis in Week 5. Then they go to Soldier Field to play the Bears, who looked awful in Week 1. It should be a win – although the Vikings have had plenty of bad luck in Chicago before.
Weeks 6 and 7 are extremely tough with the 49ers visiting Minnesota followed by a trip to Lambeau Field to play the Packers. If they can come out of these four games with two victories it'll be a success.
Chance to get hot Weeks 9-13
This is the stretch the Vikings must dominate. Anything more than one loss in this stretch against the Falcons, Saints, Broncos, Bears and Raiders could be backbreaking. It'll test Minnesota's ability to win on the road since the matchups with the Falcons, Broncos and Raiders are all away from U.S. Bank Stadium.
Four-game gauntlet to finish the regular season
They play at Cincinnati in the cold, host the Lions and Packers and then travel to the Motor City for a regular season finale against Detroit. If the Vikings are still in the hunt at this point of the season, these games could decide the winner of the NFC North and they will almost for sure decide whether the Vikings have a chance to make the playoffs.
