Eden Prairie, MN (April 20, 2017) – The Minnesota Vikings 2017 schedule was released today, with the team starting regular season play on Monday Night Football for the sixth time in franchise history when the New Orleans Saints visit U.S. Bank Stadium on September 11. Minnesota is 12-3 against the Saints and 16-9 on Monday night when playing at home. This marks only the second time in the past decade the Vikings will open at home.
Week 1 | Monday, Sept. 11 | vs. New Orleans Saints | 6:10 PM | ESPN
Week 2 | Sunday, Sept. 17 | at Pittsburgh Steelers | Noon | FOX
Week 3 | Sunday, Sept 24 | vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Noon | FOX
Week 4 | Sunday, Oct. 1 | vs. Detroit Lions | Noon | FOX
Week 5 | Monday, Oct. 9 | at Chicago Bears | 7:30 PM | ESPN
Week 6 | Sunday, Oct. 15 | vs. Green Bay Packers | Noon* | FOX
Week 7 | Sunday, Oct. 22 | vs. Baltimore Ravens | Noon* | CBS
Week 8 | Sunday, Oct. 29 | at Cleveland Browns (London) | 8:30 AM | NFLN
Week 9 | BYE WEEK
Week 10 | Sunday, Nov. 12 | at Washington Redskins | Noon* | FOX
Week 11 | Sunday, Nov. 19 | vs. Los Angeles Rams | Noon* | FOX
Week 12 | Thursday, Nov. 23 | at Detroit Lions | 11:30 AM | FOX
Week 13 | Sunday, Dec. 3 | at Atlanta Falcons | Noon* | FOX
Week 14 | Sunday, Dec. 10 | at Carolina Panthers | Noon* | CBS
Week 15 | Sunday, Dec. 17 | vs. Cincinnati Bengals | Noon* | CBS
Week 16 | Saturday, Dec. 23 | at Green Bay Packers | 7:30 PM | NBC
Week 17 | Sunday, Dec. 31 | vs. Chicago Bears | Noon* | FOX
(All times are Central; *Time subject to change due to flexible scheduling)
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Minnesota will travel to Heinz Field for the first time since 2009 to clash with the AFC North Champions inWeek 2. The Vikings hold the overall series lead, 9-8, and look to claim its first win in Pittsburgh since 1995. Head Coach Mike Zimmer will meet a familiar foe for the first time since leaving Cincinnati to lead Minnesota in 2014.
The Vikings return to U.S. Bank Stadium for a Week 3 meeting with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, marking the 55th matchup between the clubs. While division rivals in the NFC Central from 1977-01, Minnesota compiled a 31-17 series record against the Bucs, but Tampa Bay has claimed five of the last six games since division realignment in 2002.
The Lions visit Minneapolis, where the Vikings have claimed 16 of the last 19 games against Detroit, for a Week 4 clash on October 1. The division rivals have split wins in Minnesota since 2011, including the Lions overtime win last season, giving Detroit a 3-0 advantage in overtime games against the Purple.
Week 5 will feature a Monday Night Football rematch at Soldier Field against the Chicago Bears on October 9at 7:30 p.m. The Vikings fell to the Bears, 20-10, on Halloween Night in 2016, dropping its overall series lead to 58-52-2. A Minnesota victory would mark the club's first Monday night road win since topping the Saints, 30-27, in 2008.
The Vikings open a two-game home stand inWeek 6against the Green Bay Packers on October 15. Minnesota looks to claim back-to-back home wins over its division rival for first time since 2008-09, having defeated Green Bay, 17-14, in U.S. Bank Stadium's inaugural regular season game.
For the second time in franchise history, the Vikings will host the Baltimore Ravens in a Week 7 showdown on October 22. Baltimore holds the overall series lead, 3-2, and claimed the most recent meeting between the clubs in 2013, but in 2009, the Vikings defeated the Ravens, 33-31, during the team's only trip to Minnesota.
Minnesota, which was part of the first-ever NFL game played in London, will visit the Cleveland Browns at Twickenham Stadium for a Week 8 matchup onOctober 29. The Vikings look to remain undefeated in games played outside the United States in the franchise's sixth international contest. Minnesota holds an 11-4 series lead over the Brown, including a 4-2 road clip.
View images of the Vikings opponents after the 2017 schedule was released on Thursday.
QB Drew Brees has thrown for 66,111 passing yards in his 16-year NFL career.
HC Sean Payton is 94-66 in his 10-year career as the head coach of the New Orleans Saints.
Willie Snead and Michael Thomas combined for 13 touchdowns and 2,032 receiving yards in 2016.
RB Le'Veon Bell ran for 1,226 yards, seven touchdowns and had 75 receptions in 2016.
QB Ben Roethlisberger threw for 3,819 yards, 29 touchdowns and 13 interceptions in 2016.
The Vikings are 0-2 in the regular season at Heinz Field.
QB Jameis Winston threw for 4,090 yards, 28 touchdowns and 18 interceptions in 2016.
WR Mike Evans surpassed 1,000 receiving yards for the third time in his three-year career in 2016 (1,321 yards).
In his first season as head coach Dirk Koetter led the Buccaneers to a record above .500 (10-6) for the first time since 2010.
QB Matthew Stafford's quarterback rating of 71.6 in 2016 was the best of his eight-year career.
WR Golden Tate caught 91 passes for 1,077 yards and four touchdowns in 2016.
HC Jim Caldwell enters his fourth season as head coach of the Lions with a 27-21 record in Detroit.
WR Cameron Meredith emerged as one of the Bears top targets in 2016 with 888 yards and 66 receptions.
LB Leonard Floyd had 7.0 sacks and 33 combined tackles in his first year in Chicago.
The Vikings are 58-52-2 against the Bears in the all-time series but just 2-9 in the past 11 at Soldier Field.
QB Aaron Rodgers threw for 40 touchdowns last season, his highest total since the 2011 season.
LB Clay Matthews finished the 2016 season with 24 tackles, including 5.0 sacks and a forced fumble in 12 games.
HC Mike McCarthy enters his 12th season as the head coach of the Green Bay Packers with a 114-61-1 record.
LB Terrell Suggs compiled three forced fumbles in his 13th season with the Baltimore Ravens in 2016.
HC John Harbaugh has been the head coach of the Ravens since 2008 and has a record of 85-59 in the regular season.
QB Joe Flacco threw for a career-high of 4,317 passing yards in 2016.
The Vikings will play as the road team against the Cleveland Browns at Twickenham Stadium in London in Week 8.
LB Jamie Collins had two interceptions, two forced fumbles and 79 combined tackles with the Patriots and Browns in 2016.
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer coached with Hue Jackson for two seasons with the Bengals (2012-13).
Bye Week
QB Kirk Cousins had 4,917 yards, 25 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season.
CB Josh Norman had 67 combined tackles and three interceptions in his first season in Washington.
The Vikings lost 26-20 against the Redskins at FedEx Field in 2016.
QB Jared Goff, the first overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, went 0-7 as a starter last season.
RB Todd Gurley has run for 1,991 yards in his first two seasons in the NFL.
HC Sean McVay became the youngest head coach in NFL history when he was hired by the Los Angeles Rams earlier this offseason.
WR Marvin Jones had a career-high 930 receiving yards in 2016.
The Vikings are 71-38-2 against the Lions all-time but are 2-3 in the past five at Ford Field.
K Matt Prater hit the game-winning field goal against the Vikings in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day.
WR Julio Jones had 1,409 yards and six touchdowns in 2016.
QB Matt Ryan was the 2016 NFL MVP after posting 4,944 yards, 38 touchdowns and seven interceptions.
The Falcons are set to open their inaugural season in Mercedes Benz Stadium.
QB Cam Newton threw for 3,509 yards, 19 touchdowns and 14 interceptions last season after winning the MVP in 2015.
LB Luke Kuechly compiled 102 combined tackles and one interception in 2016.
The Vikings defeated the Panthers 22-10 at Bank of America Stadium in 2016.
In nine games last season, WR A.J. Green had 66 receptions, 964 yards and four touchdowns before a season-ending injury.
QB Andy Dalton threw for 4,206 yards, 18 touchdowns and eight interceptions in 2016.
Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer coached under Marvin Lewis for six seasons (2008-13) as defensive coordinator of the Bengals.
WR Jordy Nelson caught 97 passes for 1,257 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2016.
RB Ty Montgomery ran for 457 yards and three touchdowns in his transition year from wide receiver to the running back position.
The Vikings are 50-59-2 all-time against the Packers and have split the past two games there.
RB Jordan Howard broke the Bears rookie franchise record with 1,313 rushing yards in 2016.
Since John Fox took over as head coach of the Bears the Vikings are 3-1 against Chicago.
The Bears acquired former Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Mike Glennon in the offseason.
The Vikings will return to the Nation's Capital following the bye week looking to even the overall series record, which stands at 12-13 (including a 6-7 mark when the Redskins host), during a Week 10 contest on November 12. The game will mark the seventh meeting between the teams in eight years, with the Vikings holding a 4-2 edge (2-2 in road games) since 2010.
In Week 11, the Los Angeles Rams will make its first regular season trip to Minnesota since relocating to California. The Vikings have won its previous four matchups against the Rams, including Zimmer's first win as head coach in the 2014 season-opener.
The Vikings will travel to the Motor City for the club's first back-to-back Thanksgiving Day games since the 1987-88 seasons. The Vikings suffered a 16-13 loss to the Lions in the club's seventh Turkey Day contest in 2016, dropping Minnesota's overall series lead to 71-38-2. The Week 12 clash will kickoff at 11:30 a.m. on FOX.
Minnesota will meet the defending NFC Champion Atlanta Falcons in the new Mercedes-Benz Stadium in a Week 13 showdown on December 3. The Vikings have won five of its last seven road games against the Falcons.
A Week 14 contest in Charlotte on December 10 concludes the Vikings' three-game road swing. Minnesota has won its last two games played at Bank of America Stadium, including last season's 22-10 victory over the Panthers.
The Vikings return to U.S. Bank Stadium on December 17 to host the Cincinnati Bengals in Zimmer's first regular season meeting with his former team. Minnesota has not lost to the Bengals in the five matchups hosted by the Vikings.
On December 23, the Vikings will travel to Lambeau Field for the club's fourth Saturday meeting with the Packers in team history, the most recent being Christmas Eve of last year. Minnesota is 17-10 all time on Saturdays.
The 2017 regular season will conclude with a New Year's Eve duel against the Chicago Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium. The Vikings defeated the Bears on New Year's Day to wrap up the 2016 regular season and now holds a five-game home winning streak against the division opponent, a streak that spans three different stadiums (Metrodome, TCF Bank Stadium, and U.S. Bank Stadium).
