Breaking The Pattern in Week 10
For the most part, the Vikings schedule avoids overly burdensome road trips.
In fact, part of what makes Minnesota’s schedule distinct is that we’ll see the Vikings go back and forth between home and away games for the opening nine weeks (with a bye tossed in). It’s only in Week 10 that we’ll see the Vikings need to play back-to-back road games.
In Week 9, Minnesota will take on Kirk Cousins’ old team, the Washington Commanders. It’ll be interesting to see how the Washington crowd reacts to their former QB1. At this point, the edge likely leans purple, but Washington won’t be easy. They’ve got great talent on their DL, and Terry McLaurin is very, very good.
The week after, Minnesota travels to Buffalo. The Bills are a great football team. Obviously, we’ll all be interested in seeing how Stefon Diggs does, but the game goes beyond just Buffalo’s WR1. I’m more worried about the Leslie Frazier defense than I am Diggs.
Part of what will make that mini road trip more manageable is that the Vikings then enter a three-game home stretch on their schedule. Week 11 to 13 will all take place at U.S. Bank Stadium. Finding success in these three games will be crucial in the playoff push. The Vikings can’t squander three games at home in the middle of the schedule.
Of course, the Vikings are also tasked with heading to London in Week 4, a game that presents more challenges than usual. Travelling overseas can be exhausting. At least they’ll follow that game with a home matchup against the Bears.
The final mini road trip occurs at the very end of the season. In Week 17 and 18, the Vikings go on the road. They’ll face Green Bay and then Chicago. If things go as we expect – a reasonably strong year but far from dominant – Minnesota may be jostling for playoff positioning. They may even be looking to snag the seventh and final NFC playoff spot.
Overall, the Vikings schedule is far from ideal. Travelling to London isn’t great, and the early bye does present some challenges. Nevertheless, it’s good that they’ve avoided prolonged road trips.
[brid autoplay=”true” video=”1013878″ player=”26281″ title=”Is%20Derek%20Carr%20The%20Las%20Vegas%20Raiders%20Franchise%20Quarterback” duration=”498″ description=”Is Derek Carr the Las Vegas Raiders franchise quarterback? It’s a question that’s been asked in both Northern California and Sin City since he entered the league back in 2014.Is Carr a difference-maker? Is he a mere game manager that can’t up the performance of his team?” uploaddate=”2022-05-16″ thumbnailurl=”undefined” contentUrl=”https://cdn.brid.tv/live/partners/17660/streaming/1012297/1012297.m3u8″ width=”16″ height=”9″]