The Vikings Have a Few Schedule Nightmares Afoot

Sportsbooks believe the 2026 Minnesota Vikings will finish around 8-9 or 9-8 this season, 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’s schedule release on Thursday night. This article illuminates the nasty portions.

A few trouble spots jumped off the page immediately.

Ranked in ascending order, these are those gruesome spots (No. 1 = worst schedule aspect).

The Nasty Stretch Arrives before December

What stands out to you on the Vikings’ schedule?

4. The Early Bye Week

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.

Instead, the Vikings will get one of the earliest byes possible. They’ll play five games and then reset just as the first chapter of the season ended.

Thankfully, the club has a “mini-bye” after Thursday Night Football at the New England Patriots in December — 10 days of rest.

3. Two Evil — and Good — Rivals to Kick the Whole Thing Off

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

It’s rare, but the NFL has outfitted Minnesota’s schedule with two games against its foremost foes right away. In seasons past — mainly when the Bears weren’t very good — this would be a nothingburger. Now, though, both the Packers and Bears could reasonably win the NFC North. They’re decent-to-good squads on paper.

Minnesota could’ve eased into the 2026 regular season with a Week 1 or 2 game against the Miami Dolphins or New York Jets. Nope — it’s the in-your-face main enemies for Kyler Murray to acclimate to the franchise immediately.

SI.com‘s Jonathan Harrison on Vikings-Packers in Week 1: “The game will be the first chance for the Vikings to likely see former Cardinals QB Kyler Murray man the Vikings’ offense. Murray was signed to a one-year, veteran minimum deal in March following his release from Arizona. The Vikings’ coaching staff and front office have been adamant they see Murray in a “true competition” with J.J. McCarthy for the team’s starting quarterback role.”

“As for the Packers, they will likely be without star pass rusher Micah Parsons for the first several weeks of the 2026 season. According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter on Thursday, Parsons is a “candidate to be placed on the Physically Unable to Perform List” to start the season. Parsons tore his ACL in December and is currently recovering from the injury.”

2. Always Thursday Night Football on the Road

Once again, the NFL has lined up Minnesota to play on the road for Thursday Night Football. It’ll be the fourth straight occurrence.

In the last three seasons, these have been the outcomes:

This needs course correction. Starting next year — and then likely spanning a few seasons — Minnesota is overdue for home primetime Thursday Night Football games. That’s all there is to it.

Daily Norseman‘s Christopher Gates noted on TNF and the weather from the schedule, “The Thursday night trip to New England 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’ side this year.”

1. Weeks 8 thru 11

Finally, the part of the schedule where you close your eyes and pray to Norse Gods:

Unless injuries have decimated four teams consecutively, this will be a brutal stretch for Minnesota — or any team. For example, if you asked a member of each of those teams’ fan bases if that squad can win a Super Bowl in 2026, they would reply, “Yes.”

On top of that, three of the four contests are on the road. Ruthless.

For the Vikings’ season to feel optimistic, Kevin O’Connell’s 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.

Dustin Baker is a novelist and political scientist. His second novel, The Invaders , is out now. So is … More about Dustin Baker