A week ago, the 2023 NFL schedule dropped, with the Minnesota Vikings playing nine road games, eight at home and five primetime contests.
One special Vikings game will be a Bellwether event
Here is the full shebang.
- Week 1: Buccaneers (9/10)
- Week 2: at Eagles (9/14, TNF)
- Week 3: Chargers (9/24)
- Week 4: at Panthers (10/1)
- Week 5: bosses (10/8)
- Week 6: at Bears (10/15)
- Week 7. 49 year olds (10/23, MNF)
- Week 8: at Packers (10/29)
- Week 9: at Falcons (11/5)
- Week 10: Saints (11/12)
- Week 11: at Broncos (11/19, SNF)
- Saturday 12 Bears (11/27, MNF)
- Week 13: VERB
- Week 14: at Raiders (12/10)
- Week 15: at Bengals (TBD)
- Saturday 16 Lions (12/24)
- Saturday 17 Packers (12/31, SNF)
- Week 18: at Lions (1/7)
Home games in red
And while every game will be meaningful, one particular game is a super indicator of how good Kevin O’Connell’s team can be in his ongoing season; at home against the San Francisco 49ers on October 23.
That’s why.
The quality of the opponent
Sometimes it takes a while in the regular NFL season for the 49ers to prepare. In 2021, for example, head coach Kyle Shanahan even faced a very brief stint on the hot bench, the not-so-hot bench, in October and November. But that was absolutely stupid because Shanahan is a master coach (one born in Minneapolis).
Indeed, Minnesota will face the Eagles, Chargers, Chiefs and Bengals in 2023 in addition to the NFC North opponent list, but San Francisco presents a test worthy of the NFC Championship. The 49ers quarterback won’t be gangbusters like Patrick Mahomes or Jalen Hurts, but it’s a safe bet that Sam Darnold, Brock Purdy, or Trae Lance will perform.
You’ll start to learn how good the 2023 Vikings can be with a Week 7 matchup against a quality NFC opponent like San Francisco.
The term:
In the Week 7 matchup, fans and pundits will have a sample size of six Vikings games in Week 49. Based on how the schedule is built, people can rally if the Vikings are 3-3. However, everyone will have a reasonable reading of the Vikings’ backbone in Week 7. If they’re 2-5, well, the Caleb Williams lottery will be in full force. A 5-2 record will create some Super Bowl buzz.
Square off against the 49ers with six games under the belt for the Vikings is a great time to test. Another example. if the Vikings get beat by the Eagles in Week 2 [again]no one will really care because the “it’s only week 2” talkers will be circulating, maybe even from this site and the author.
However, a win or loss in Week 7 is a different animal. The season must be formed.
Monday Night Football — Home
The granddaddy of them all is the time and place of this call event.
Quarterback Kirk Cousins ​​is often brutalized Monday night football performance, outdated talker, because personally he was never a problem in such games. His team, on the other hand, is a different story. The territory of the Vikings Janik Eckardt detailed Cousins’ primetime stats on Twitter this week.
Cousins’ Vikings are a .500 football team in primetime games since the start of 2019, and in fact, Minnesota’s problem in primetime extends far beyond Cousins’ tenure with the club. From 2000 to 2017, 18 seasons before Cousins, the Vikings posted a 21-31 (.404) nightly record, 12th-worst in the NFL. Still, Cousins ​​pays for anything rotten with primetime.
Regardless of the fake stories on Cousins, the Vikings should care about the business of national television for one reason. the game is at home. And that’s at home against a good team, nearly two months into the regular season.
This is the Bulgarian game.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube channel, VikesNow:. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday Raun Sauh and: Sal Spice:. His Viking obsession dates back to 1996. Mentioned guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, The Sopranos, Basset Hounds and The Doors (band).
All statistics are provided Pro Football Reference / Stathead:; All contractual information provided by OverTheCap.com.