EAGAN, Minn. — Minnesota is definitively North, but it's also centrally located.
That will help the Vikings with travel to a certain degree in 2018, when Minnesota and the other members of the NFC North are scheduled to play the NFC West and the AFC East.
Based on webflyer.com's air mileage calculator, the Vikings will travel 14,254 miles for eight regular-season road games.
That total is 2,644 more than the Vikings traveled in 2016 but 2,860 fewer than 2017's total, which was inflated by Minnesota's 8,000-mile roundtrip from MSP to London's Heathrow Airport.
Each year, a team's travel mileage fluctuates based on the way the schedule rotates.
It is the Vikings turn to visit the Rams and Seahawks (both came to Minnesota in 2015) of the NFC West and the Jets and Patriots of the AFC East (both visited in 2014).
Conversely, the Vikings will host the 49ers and Cardinals (Minnesota was the visitor for those 2015 matchups) from the NFC West and the Bills and Dolphins from the AFC East (Minnesota visited both in 2014).
The Vikings again will have home-and-away division games with Green Bay, Chicago and Detroit.
The other two games on Minnesota's schedule are hosting New Orleans (it is the Vikings turn to host the NFC South team that had the same divisional order of finish) and visiting Philadelphia (it is the Vikings turn to visit the NFC East team that had the same divisional order of finish).
The Vikings will play the Rams in Los Angeles for the first time since Nov. 29, 1992.
Vikings Director of Operations-Team Travel Luther Hippe started with the Vikings in 1993, so the trip to the West Coast is providing unchartered water.
The NFL's decision to place the Vikings-Rams contest on a Thursday, however, threw a Clayton Kershaw curveball at the plans.
"L.A. is unknown to a lot of people," Hippe said. "A lot of teams are going there for the first time [with current travel personnel]. We would have been in pretty great shape if it were a Sunday game, because [a hotel manager who has hosted multiple] visiting teams said he had 12 weekends held, so about three-fourths of the time, you're going to hit and be fine.
"Then, you threw the Thursday at him, and that one is a bad one," Hippe said. "We're scrambling on the logistics right now."
Hippe said another rare trip — the Vikings first to New England since 2010 and eighth ever — is another "problem child" because of a lack of full-service hotels convenient to Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
"They don't have six or eight full-service hotels in the area. They have two or three unless you want to drive to Boston," Hippe said.
On Friday afternoon, a 30-mile trip from central Boston was expected to take an hour. That might not be as bad on a Sunday.
That game is scheduled for 3:25 p.m. (CT) and technically falls within the window of flex scheduling but is unlikely to be moved from that time slot.
Two weeks earlier, the Vikings are scheduled to play the Bears at noon (CT) on Nov. 18. Hippe and the Vikings staff will be prepared for any changes.
"You think they're never going to move that, 'Well, be careful,' " Hippe said. "I have to hold it until 5 o'clock at night."
As it stands right now, the Vikings have two road night games and two others with 3:25 p.m. (CT) start times. The night games can create a little bit of a time crunch for teams and hotel staff, but properties are able to find a benefit.
"It's hurry-up-and-wait for these night games, but the hotels don't mind as much because you're eating three times," Hippe said.
View the Vikings 2018 schedule in photos.
Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo went 5-0 as a starter to close out 2017, completing 120 of 178 passes (67.4 percent) for 1,560 yards. He threw seven touchdowns and five interceptions.
49ers defensive end DeForest Buckner was the No. 7 overall pick in the 2016 NFL Draft. He has 9.0 career sacks.
The 49ers also made a splash on defense by signing three-time All-Pro cornerback Richard Sherman, who started 99 of the 105 games he played in seven seasons with the Seahawks but suffered an Achilles injury in 2017.
In the Week 16 game, the Vikings defense held Green Bay scoreless for the first time since 1971 and first time ever at Lambeau Field.
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers did not play in the teams' past meeting; Rodgers was sidelined for the majority of the season after suffering a broken collarbone at Minnesota in Week 6.
Green Bay defensive tackle Mike Daniels earned his first Pro Bowl nod in 2017.
Buffalo wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin was acquired via trade midway through the 2017 season. He had 475 yards and two touchdowns in eight games with the Bills.
Buffalo was active out of the gate when free agency opened, signing quarterback AJ McCarron (pictured), defensive end Trent Murphy and defensive tackle Star Lotulelei, among others.
Bills running back LeSean McCoy put together the sixth 1,000-yard season of his career in 2017 when he rushed for 1,138 yards and six touchdowns.
In 2017, the Rams defensively ranked 30th in rushing yards allowed per play (4.7), but defensive tackle Aaron Donald made was a First-Team All-Pro for the third straight year.
In the teams' most-recent meeting, the Vikings limited Rams quarterback Jared Goff to 225 yards and a passer rating of 79.6.
The Rams added a number of high-caliber free agents to their roster during the 2017 offseason, including DT Ndamukong Suh (pictured) and cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters.
This year's game will be a rematch of the 2017 NFC Championship game, in which the Vikings lost to the eventual Super Bowl LII champs.
Eagles QB Nick Foles stepped up in Week 14 when Carson Wentz suffered a season-ending knee injury; Foles went on to earn Super Bowl MVP honors.
Philadelphia wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey has nine career touchdown catches in 10 total games against the Vikings.
Arizona signed former Vikings quarterback Sam Bradford during free agency. Bradford will be able to target Minneapolis native Larry Fitzgerald, who is back for his 15th season.
Arizona running back David Johnson missed nearly all of the 2017 season after racking up 2,118 scrimmage yards and 20 total touchdowns in 2016.
Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson has 21 career interceptions over the first seven seasons of his career.
Jets defensive tackle Leonard Williams has 12 career sacks in three seasons since being the sixth overall pick in 2015.
The Jets signed former Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater in free agency this offseason and also re-signed Josh McCown.
This year's matchup will be the first time for Minnesota to play the Jets since 2014 and the first time on the road since 2010.
![Saints quarterback Drew Brees is likely a first-ballot Hall of Famer who ranks third all-time with 70,445 yards and is tied for third [with Tom Brady] with 488 career touchdown passes.](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/private/t_new_photo_album_2x/t_lazy/f_auto/vikings/f0ux3pazn3rpqyfqvj0e.jpg)
Saints quarterback Drew Brees is likely a first-ballot Hall of Famer who ranks third all-time with 70,445 yards and is tied for third [with Tom Brady] with 488 career touchdown passes.
New Orleans had the 2017 Offensive Rookie of the Year in running back Alvin Kamara (pictured) and the 2017 Defensive Rookie of the Year in cornerback Marshon Lattimore.
Running back Alvin Kamara rushed for 728 yards and had 826 receiving yards in his first NFL season.
Detroit wide receiver Marvin Jones Jr., has 28 career touchdown catches.
Lions kicker Matt Prater has made 20 of 24 career field goal attempts against the Vikings.
Lions cornerback Darius Slay tied for the league lead with eight interceptions in 2017 and garnered his first All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors.
Quarterback Mitch Trubisky started 12 games in his rookie season, going 4-8 while completing 196 of 330 passes (59.4 percent) for 2,193 yards with seven touchdowns and seven interceptions.
Minnesota's 2017 victory was the Vikings second win in Chicago in the past 10 seasons, but second in four seasons under Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer.
Chicago's Leonard Floyd has 11.5 sacks in 22 career games.
Packers wide receiver Davante Adams has double-digit receiving touchdowns in each of the past two seasons.
Packers wide receiver Randall Cobb has 39 career touchdown catches over his seven-year career.
Green Bay's Clay Matthews ranks ninth among active players with 80.0 career sacks.
Patriots Head Coach Bill Belichick has 250 career regular-season wins, which is tied for fourth all-time with Tom Landry.
Since Gillette Stadium opened in 2002, the Patriots have a record of 108-21 at home.
![New England quarterback Tom Brady has won three NFL MVP awards and is a four-time Super Bowl MVP. Brady is tied for third [with Drew Brees] with 488 career touchdown passes and is fourth in NFL history with 66,159 passing yards.](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/private/t_new_photo_album_2x/t_lazy/f_auto/vikings/v34xdeypxfw1ptlhnraq.jpg)
New England quarterback Tom Brady has won three NFL MVP awards and is a four-time Super Bowl MVP. Brady is tied for third [with Drew Brees] with 488 career touchdown passes and is fourth in NFL history with 66,159 passing yards.
Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson is 65-30-1 in six seasons as a starter. He has thrown for 12,226 yards and 89 touchdowns over the past three seasons.
Seattle wide receiver Doug Baldwin has 29 receiving touchdowns over the past three seasons.
Seattle safety Kam Chancellor has been named to the Pro Bowl four times in the last seven seasons.
Miami went 6-10 in 2017 to finish in third place in the AFC East. The Dolphins defense, led by defensive end Cameron Wake, ranked 29th by allowing 24.6 yards per game.
![The Dolphins signed running back Frank Gore this offseason. Gore is the NFL's active leader [and is fifth all-time] with 14,026 rushing yards.](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/private/t_new_photo_album_2x/t_lazy/f_auto/vikings/kzahaq8be2uyxenbvmen.jpg)
The Dolphins signed running back Frank Gore this offseason. Gore is the NFL's active leader [and is fifth all-time] with 14,026 rushing yards.
Besides Gore, Miami also signed wide receiver Danny Amendola, who has 19 career touchdown catches.
The Vikings won in Detroit on Thanksgiving Day in 2017 by the score of 30-23.
Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford has been more than a mainstay, not missing a start since 2010. He has thrown for at least 4,257 yards in each of the past seven seasons.
The Vikings were able to limit Golden Tate to 36 yards on seven catches in 2017 a season after he totaled 158 yards and a game-winning score on 16 receptions in 2016.
Bears running back Jordan Howard has rushed for more than 1,100 yards in each of his first two NFL seasons.
This will be the third straight meeting in Week 17 at U.S. Bank Stadium between the Vikings and Bears.
![Bears running back Tarik Cohen scored four total touchdowns [including on a punt return] during his rookie season in 2017.](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/private/t_new_photo_album_2x/t_lazy/f_auto/vikings/yc2nug1uodywxrz2sglx.jpg)
Bears running back Tarik Cohen scored four total touchdowns [including on a punt return] during his rookie season in 2017.
2018 Roundtrip air mileage for the Vikings (according to webflyer.com):
Week 2 | Green Bay 502
Week 4 | Los Angeles Rams 3,060
Week 5 | Philadelphia 1,954
Week 7 | New York Jets 2,000
Week 11 | Chicago 666
Week 13 | New England 2,240
Week 14 | Seattle 2,780
Week 16 | Detroit 1,052
Regular-season total: 14,254
Preseason 1 | Denver 1,358
Preseason 4 | Tennessee 1,388
Preseason total: 2,746
Preseason and regular-season total: 17,000
