The Minnesota Vikings outperformed nearly all of their underlying metrics en route to winning 13 games and the NFC North title in 2022. After a disappointing Wild Card loss to the New York Giants, the Vikings will enter the 2023 campaign hoping to repeat as a division winner. Will Minnesota’s upcoming schedule give them another chance at double-digit victories, or will they regress?
Minnesota Vikings Schedule
- Preseason Week 1: at Seahawks
Fox | 10 p.m. ET (Thursday, Aug. 10) - Preseason Week 2: vs. Titans
Fox | 8 p.m. ET (Saturday, Aug. 19) - Preseason Week 3: vs. Cardinals
Fox | 1 p.m. ET (Saturday, Aug. 26) - Week 1: vs. Buccaneers
CBS | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Sept. 10) - Week 2: at Eagles (TNF)
Amazon Prime | 8:15 p.m. ET (Thursday, Sept. 14) - Week 3: vs. Chargers
FOX | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Sept. 24) - Week 4: at Panthers
FOX | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Oct. 1) - Week 5: vs. Chiefs
CBS | 4:25 p.m. ET (Sunday, Oct. 8) - Week 6: at Bears
FOX | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Oct. 15) - Week 7: vs. 49ers (MNF)
ESPN | 8:15 p.m. ET (Monday, Oct. 23) - Week 8: at Packers
FOX | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Oct. 29) - Week 9: at Falcons
FOX | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Nov. 5) - Week 10: vs. Saints
FOX | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Nov. 12) - Week 11: at Broncos (SNF)
NBC | 8:20 p.m. ET (Sunday, Nov. 19) - Week 12: vs. Bears (MNF)
ESPN | 8:15 p.m. ET (Monday, Nov. 27) - Week 13: BYE
- Week 14: at Raiders
FOX | 4:05 p.m. ET (Sunday, Dec. 10)
- Week 15: at Bengals
TBD - Week 16: vs. Lions
FOX | 1 p.m. ET (Sunday, Dec. 24) - Week 17: vs. Packers (SNF)
NBC | 8:20 p.m. ET (Sunday, Dec. 31) - Week 18: at Lions
TBD
Minnesota Vikings Strength of Schedule
Based on PFN Analyst Arif Hasan’s strength of schedule matrix, the Vikings project to have the 18th-hardest NFL schedule next season. As usual, Minnesota will play each of its NFC North rivals at home and on the road. They will also face the entirety of the NFC South and the AFC West.
MORE: How Dalvin Cook’s Departure Affects the Vikings’ Backfield
Additionally, the Vikings will play the two remaining NFC teams that finished in first place in their respective divisions: the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers. Lastly, Minnesota will round out its schedule by facing the Cincinnati Bengals, who finished first in the AFC North in 2022.
The team’s post-bye week performance may ultimately determine its season. Going to the Raiders and Bengals after Week 13 leads into two games against the Lions and one at home against the Packers. The Raiders are projected to be quite bad, opening an opportunity for Minnesota to build momentum before facing better competition.
Minnesota Vikings Record Prediction
No matter how you slice it, the Vikings got extremely lucky in 2022. Despite finishing with a negative point differential and ranking 28th in weighted DVOA, Minnesota managed to post 13 wins. They went 11-0 in one-score games in the regular season, with their only one-score loss coming in the playoffs. Based purely on their points scored and points allowed, the Vikings should have been more like an eight-to-nine-win team a season ago.
Things project to get more difficult in 2023 when Minnesota is set to face a dominant set of opponents. The Vikings will be required to play all four teams that battled in the NFL’s Conference Championship Games, including road matchups against the Bengals and Eagles.
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Meanwhile, Minnesota has the most difficult schedule of any team in the NFC North. With the Lions on the upswing, the Vikings are not the betting favorites to repeat as division champs.
Minnesota will bring back only some of its roster from last season. Dalvin Cook was released as a cap casualty in June, and both Adam Thielen and Eric Kendricks were released in March. The Vikings re-signed contributors like running back Alexander Mattison and center Garrett Bradbury on the offensive side of the ball. On defense, they took a few high-upside chances on promising players such as defensive end Marcus Davenport and cornerback Byron Murphy.
MORE: Green Bay Packers Schedule 2023
Minnesota only had one pick over the first two rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft, but they managed to add another offensive playmaker to the mix. USC receiver Jordan Addison should step into the void created by Thielen’s departure and give Kirk Cousins another pass catcher alongside Justin Jefferson and T.J. Hockenson.
Will that be enough for the Vikings to contend in what could be Cousins’ final season in purple? Regression feels inevitable, but Minnesota’s 8.5-win total feels a bit low. There’s still enough talent on this team to sneak into the playoffs, and a 9-8 campaign is well within their reach.
Projected Record: 9-8
