The Minnesota Vikings ended an injury-riddled 2023 campaign with a 7-10 record and finished third in the NFC North. Now, all of the team’s non-divisional opponents for this coming season are officially known, although the schedule won’t come out until May.
Let’s preview some of the teams that the Vikings will face in 2024.
Home
Arizona Cardinals– After the return of Kyler Murray from injury, the Cardinals finished the season strong and showed a lot of promise under first year coach Jonathan Gannon. This could be a tough game, but the Cardinals have not won in Minnesota since 1977.
San Francisco 49ers– Although the Vikings handed the 49ers one of their five defeats on the year, neither team was healthy. Let’s see how these teams fare at full strength against one another.
Atlanta Falcons– The Falcons will be looking for a new coach and quarterback this offseason. If both the Falcons and Vikings draft a QB, this could be a battle of rookies.
Houston Texans– After a 3-win season in 2022, the rookie QB-coach combo of C.J. Stroud and DeMeco Ryans surprised many by leading the Texans to a 10-7 record and the AFC South crown. Fun fact: the Vikings are 5-0 all time against the Texans.
Indianapolis Colts– The Colts will return to Minnesota for the first time since the largest comeback in NFL history happened. The Colts barely missed the playoffs but showed promise with rookie coach Shane Steichen despite starting backup Gardner Minshew for most of the season with rookie Anthony Richardson sidelined.
New York Jets– Old nemesis Aaron Rodgers will play the Vikings one last time as his new team pays a visit to U.S. Bank Stadium. The Jets’ solid rushing attack and defense will not make this game an easy one.
Away
Los Angeles Rams– The Rams were another surprise team in 2023, having doubled their win total from 2022 by going from 5-12 to 10-7. This will be the Vikings’ second trip to SoFi Stadium but first while playing the Rams.
Seattle Seahawks– The Seahawks took a step back this season but still have a lot of good young players on their roster. This is another team where QB is a potential question mark, so let’s see how their offseason goes. This will be the first Seahawks-Vikings matchup since 2009 where Russell Wilson is not Seattle’s starting QB.
New York Giants– This will be the first matchup between the two teams since the Giants’ win in the 2022 wild card game. They took a massive step back this season, and it appears that 2022 was nothing more than a flash in the pan for them. The Giants recently fired defensive coordinator Wink Martindale, so let’s see how that unit looks when these two meet.
Jacksonville Jaguars– The Jaguars’ December collapse raises a lot of long term questions for the franchise. I will be curious to see how their team looks personnel-wise by the start of next season. The team recently fired their defensive coordinator and several members of their offensive staff, so this team will look different coaching-wise.
Tennessee Titans– The Titans will be a completely different team by the time the Vikings head to Nashville in 2024. Mike Vrabel is gone and Ryan Tannehill and Derrick Henry will likely be as well. This will likely be the Vikings’ final game at Nissan Stadium as the Titans are moving into a new stadium in 2027.
Overview
For the second straight year, the Vikings appear to have a tougher home than away slate. This is definitely a manageable schedule, but the Vikings themselves have a lot of roster questions to answer, notably at the QB and edge rusher spots. Let’s see how the offseason goes.
