NFL.com Projects 2024 Vikings Schedule to Be One of the Hardest in the League
The 2024 NFL regular season schedule was unveiled on Wednesday night.
Of course, fans have already known the full list of opponents for each of the 32 teams since the conclusion of the 2023 regular season, but now, we have an idea of when each team will play these opponents.
In the aftermath of the schedule release, NFL.com’s Gennaro Filice projected seven teams to have the most daunting slates in the league this year. Of course, the Minnesota Vikings schedule landed at No. 4 on the list with only three teams, at least in Filice’s mind, to have harder schedules.
NFL.com Projects Vikings Schedule to Be Very Difficult
Felice began his argument with an obvious point: the NFC North is a rapidly improving division, and the Vikings have the pleasure of playing six games against the Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions, and Green Bay Packers this fall.
“The Lions and Packers both turned heads in this past January’s postseason, setting an inspiring tone for the 2024 campaign. Meanwhile, the Bears hype train is rapidly picking up steam, with dynamic QB Caleb Williams joining the kind of well-rounded roster seldom available to the No. 1 overall pick. Simply put, there’s growing speculation that the NFC North could be the best division in the conference — if not the entire league — with bandwagons filling up fast at three divisional outposts. And then there’s Minnesota, which looks like a team in transition following Kirk Cousins’ exit,” Filice wrote.
Assuming Williams lives up to the hype as the No. 1 overall pick in this spring’s draft class, the Bears may have finally solved their QB position after all these years. At the very least, Chicago has a great situation for a QB to develop in with stars at receiver and a budding defense.
There is also the question of Minnesota’s own QB situation. Will Sam Darnold be the starter to begin the season, or will J.J. McCarthy usurp the veteran after being selected with the 10th overall pick? The Vikings themselves have a fantastic situation for a QB as well, but particularly if McCarthy is the starter, growing pains should be expected, particularly early on in the season.
As a result, the fact that the Vikings play five of their first seven games of the season against 2023 playoff teams is less than ideal. Minnesota will be tested right out of the gate. Making matters tougher, one of their non-playoff opponents is the New York Jets, and they will have Aaron Rodgers back in the lineup this year.
Filice continued: “Can veteran Sam Darnold hold the fort long enough to allow No. 10 overall pick J.J. McCarthy ample runway to the starting lineup? Darnold will be returning to his old stomping grounds for the season opener at MetLife Stadium. Then the schedule really kicks into gear, with home dates against the reigning NFC champion 49ers and rising NFL darling Texans, followed by a voyage to Lambeau Field and a trip across the pond to face the Jets. Will the early bye following the London game inevitably produce an interminable slog to Week 18?”
Then, things only get a little tougher with a three-game road trip in November to Jacksonville, Tennessee, and Chicago.
Ultimately, we’ve known ever since Minnesota’s list of opponents was revealed that they would have one of the tougher slates in the NFL. The league did them very few favors in terms of the order of these games, though.
4 Takeaways from the Vikings Schedule
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.