The Vikings 2020 schedule was released Thursday night and has already been analyzed up and down by football pundits near and far.
But nearly everyone agrees that Minnesota's Week 16 road game in New Orleans, which will be played on Christmas Day, is among the most intriguing games to watch this season.
Bryan DeArdo of CBS Sports had the matchup among his 10-best rivalry games featuring non-division opponents.
DeArdo wrote:
New Orleans is certainly circling this game on its calendar after losing to the Vikings — in controversial fashion — in last year's Wild Card round. Saints fans also haven't gotten over Stefon Diggs' game-winning catch on the final play of the Vikings improbable win in the Divisional round of the 2017 playoffs. Those losses deprived the Saints (and Drew Brees, who is "stuck" on one Super Bowl win) from winning another Lombardi.
The pain isn't all on the Saints side, however, as Vikings fans are still getting over their team's overtime loss to the Saints in the 2009 NFC title game.
Narratives aside, this game will feature two teams with serious Super Bowl aspirations. The Saints, who added Emmanuel Sanders to their offense this offseason, enter the 2020 season with 26 wins over the past two years. The Vikings, who replaced Diggs with first-round pick Justin Jefferson, are looking to build off of last season's 10-6 campaign.
Additionally, Connor Orr of Sports Illustrated also had the late-December game at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome as one of his must-see games in 2020.
View photos of the Vikings 2020 schedule in photos including all opponents for the regular season.
Week 1 | Sunday, Sept. 13 | 09.13 | NOON | Home vs. Green Bay Packers | U.S. Bank Stadium
Aaron Rodgers - Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers finished 2019, his 15th NFL season, with 4,002 yards, 26 touchdowns and just four interceptions.
The Vikings have played the Packers to open a season six previous times but have never kicked off a campaign by hosting a Border Battle. Green Bay's only appearance in a Minnesota home opener was during Week 2 in 2016 when the Vikings prevailed 17-14 in U.S. Bank Stadium's inaugural game.
Week 2 | Sunday, Sept. 20 | 09.20 | NOON | Away @ Indianapolis Colts | Lucas Oil Stadium
Darius Leonard - Linebacker Darius Leonard hauled in an impressive five interceptions for the Colts in 2019 en route to his first career Pro Bowl.
Marlon Mack - Marlon Mack led the Colts ground attack in 2019, totaling 1,091 rushing yards and eight touchdowns on 247 carries.
![Joe Kapp (Sept. 28, 1969) [7 passing touchdowns against Baltimore Colts] = Vikings quarterback Joe Kapp tied an NFL record in 1969 when he threw for an incredible seven touchdowns against the Baltimore Colts, who moved to Indianapolis in 1984.](https://static.clubs.nfl.com/image/private/t_new_photo_album_2x/t_lazy/f_auto/vikings/lupn6gwpo05hnkvylukp.jpg)
Joe Kapp (Sept. 28, 1969) [7 passing touchdowns against Baltimore Colts] = Vikings quarterback Joe Kapp tied an NFL record in 1969 when he threw for an incredible seven touchdowns against the Baltimore Colts, who moved to Indianapolis in 1984.
Week 3 | Sunday, Sept. 27 | 09.27 | NOON | Home vs. Tennessee Titans | U.S. Bank Stadium
Derrick Henry - Derrick Henry won the 2019 rushing title with 1,540 yards and tied for the league lead with 16 rushing touchdowns
Kevin Byard - Safety Kevin Byard recorded five interceptions in 2019, which tied for fourth in the league. He has picked off at least four passes in each of the past four seasons.
Eric Kendricks (Sept. 11, 2016) - Eric Kendricks had a 77-yard interception return for a score — his first NFL touchdown — in the most-recent meeting between the teams, back in Week 1 of the 2016 season.
Week 4 | Sunday, Oct. 4 | 10.04 | NOON | Away @ Houston Texans | NRG Stadium
Deshaun Watson - Deshaun Watson set a career-high with 33 total touchdowns in 15 games in 2019. He threw for 26 scores for the second straight season and added seven rushing touchdowns, which tied for second among quarterbacks.
J.J. Watt - J.J. Watt is tied for fourth among active players with 96 career sacks.
Marcus Sherels (Oct. 9, 2016) - Marcus Sherels returned a punt 79 yards for a touchdown in the most-recent meeting between the teams. It was his fifth career punt return for a score and first in a home game.
Week 5 | Sunday, Oct. 11 | 10.11 | 7:20 PM | Away @ Seattle Seahawks | CenturyLink Field
Russell Wilson - Russell Wilson threw a career-low five interceptions in 516 attempts in 2019. Wilson also passed for 4,110 yards and 31 touchdowns.
Bobby Wagner - Seahawks linebacker Bobby Wagner led the NFL with 159 total tackles (league stats) in 2019.
Anthony Harris (Dec. 2, 2019) - Safety Anthony Harris had a 20-yard interception return for a score against the Seahawks in 2019. It was his first career touchdown.
Week 6 | Sunday, Oct. 18 | 10.18 | NOON | Home vs. Atlanta Falcons | U.S. Bank Stadium
Matt Ryan - Ryan, who is 109-80 as a starter, has recorded 38 game-winning drives and 30 come-from-behind victories.
Julio Jones - Julio Jones has seven Pro Bowls to his credit and a career average of 96.2 yards per game. In four games against Minnesota since 2014, however, Jones has averaged just 48.3 yards per game.
Kevin Williams (Sept. 9, 2007) - Defensive tackle Kevin Williams returned an interception 54 yards for a touchdown to put the Vikings up by seven early in what became a 24-3 victory.
Week 7 | Sunday, Oct. 25 | 10.25 | BYE WEEK
Week 8 | Sunday, Nov. 1 | 11.01 | NOON | Away @ Green Bay Packers | Lambeau Field
Za'Darius Smith - OLB Za'Darius Smith started all 16 games for the first time in his career and totaled 13.5 sacks in his first season with Green Bay.
Taking NFC North title in 2015 - The Vikings closed the 2015 season by defeating the Packers 20-13 at Lambeau Field to win the NFC North.
Week 9 | Sunday, Nov. 8 | 11.08 | NOON | Home vs. Detroit Lions | U.S. Bank Stadium
Matthew Stafford - Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford started 136 straight regular-season games from 2011 to Nov 3, 2019. He missed the final eight games of last season.
Cris Carter's 1,000*th* catch - Receiver Cris Carter hauled in his 1,000th career catch, a four-yard TD pass from Daunte Culpepper, in the first quarter against the Lions on Nov. 30, 2000.
Week 10 | Monday, Nov. 16 | 11.16 | 7:15 PM | Away @ Chicago Bears | Soldier Field
Khalil Mack - Bears edge rusher Khalil Mack led Chicago with five forced fumbles in 2019.
Adrian Peterson (Oct. 14, 2007) - Adrian Peterson racked up 224 rushing yards and three touchdowns (67, 73 and 35 yards) in a 34-31 comeback victory at Soldier Field on Oct. 14, 2007.
Week 11 | Sunday, Nov. 22 | 11.22 | 3:25 PM | Home vs. Dallas Cowboys | U.S. Bank Stadium
Ezekiel Elliott - Ezekiel Elliott ranked fourth in the NFL in rushing yards last season, racking up 1,357 yards and 12 touchdowns on 301 carries.
Jaylon Smith - Linebacker Jaylon Smith started all 16 games for the Cowboys in 2019 and led the team with 142 tackles (league stats) en route to his first career Pro Bowl nod.
Eric Kendricks (Nov. 10, 2019) - Linebacker Eric Kendricks helped the Vikings wrangle the Cowboys on Sunday Night Football in Week 10 last season. Kendricks broke up a fourth-down pass that Dak Prescott intended for running back Ezekiel Elliott.
Week 12 | Sunday, Nov. 29 | 11.29 | NOON | Home vs. Carolina Panthers | U.S. Bank Stadium
Christian McCaffrey - Running back Christian McCaffrey led the NFL with 2,392 combined yards in 2019, joining Roger Craig and Marshall Faulk as the only three players in league history to have more than 1,000 rushing and receiving yards in one season.
Teddy Bridgewater - Former Viking Teddy Bridgewater is poised to make his first start against the Minnesota team that drafted him with the 32nd overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft.
Adam Thielen (Nov. 30, 2014) - Adam Thielen blocked a punt and returned it 30 yards for his first career touchdown to help the Vikings defeat the Panthers 31-13 on Nov. 30, 2014, a 12-degree day (Wind Chill of minus-7) at the University of Minnesota.
Week 13 | Sunday, Dec. 6 | 12.06 | NOON | Home vs. Jacksonville Jaguars | U.S. Bank Stadium
Gardner Minshew II - Gardner Minshew II threw for 21 touchdowns and only six interceptions in 12 starts as a rookie last season.
Josh Allen - Jaguars edge rusher Josh Allen, the seventh overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft, led Jacksonville with 10.5 sacks.
Randall Cunningham (Dec. 20, 1998) - Randall Cunningham threw three touchdowns (13, 43 and 14 yards) to build a 23-point lead at the end of the third quarter in an eventual 50-10 Vikings victory, a big boost for Minnesota's season points total of 556.
Week 14 | Sunday, Dec. 13 | 12.13 | NOON | Away @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers | Raymond James Stadium
Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski - Tampa Bay added Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski this offseason. Brady is a six-time Super Bowl champion who ranks second all-time in passing yards (74,571) and passing touchdowns (541). Gronkowski has caught 78 career scores from Brady.
Shaquil Barrett - Shaquil Barrett set a Buccaneers franchise record — and led the NFL — with 19.5 sacks in 2019.
Anthony Barr (Oct. 26, 2014) - This will be Minnesota's first trip to Tampa Bay since 2014, when Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr forced and recovered a fumble before racing 27 yards for the game-winning touchdown.
Week 15 | Sunday, Dec. 20 | 12.20 | NOON | Home vs. Chicago Bears | U.S. Bank Stadium A
Cordarrelle Patterson - Cordarrelle Patterson led the NFL with 825 kickoff return yards in 2019, including a 102-yard touchdown.
Danielle Hunter (Dec. 20, 2015) - This game is scheduled to occur five years to the date of Minnesota's 38-17 win over Chicago at the University of Minnesota. Danielle Hunter recorded 1.5 sacks that night for the first multi-sack game of his career.
Week 16 | Friday, Dec. 25 | 12.25 | 3:30 PM | Away @ New Orleans Saints | Mercedes-Benz Superdome
Cam Jordan - The son of Vikings Ring of Honor member Steve Jordan, Saints defensive end Cam Jordan racked up 15.5 sacks in 2019, which ranked third in the NFL behind Shaquil Barrett (19.5) and Chandler Jones (19.0).
Drew Brees - Entering his 20th NFL season (15th) with the Saints, quarterback Drew Brees has been named to 13 Pro Bowls.
Kyle Rudolph (Jan. 5, 2020) - Kyle Rudolph caught a 4-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins for a 26-20 walk-off Vikings victory that stunned the Saints in overtime of the NFC Wild Card game in January.
Week 17 | Sunday, Jan. 3 | 01.03 | NOON | Away @ Detroit Lions | Ford Field D
Kenny Golladay - Lions receiver Kenny Golladay started all 16 games in 2019, recording 65 catches for a career-high 1,190 yards and a league-best 11 touchdowns.
Kirk Cousins (Oct. 20, 2019) - Kirk Cousins threw for a season-high 338 yards and four touchdowns to help Minnesota notch a 42-30 road win in Detroit last season.
Orr wrote:
A rare Christmas Day matchup (on a Friday!), which means most of us will miss it whilst jamming together seemingly unmatchable plastic ends of various toys. Still, I'm beginning to like what has become a yearly end-of-season Sean Payton rage fest as one supremely talented team after another falls just short of the big game. The Vikings victory last year in the playoffs (called by yours truly) has undoubtedly put them atop Payton's ever-expanding list of enemies.
On a local level, Vikings beat reporter Chad Graff of The Athletic had the Christmas Day game billed as the “can’t-miss” matchup of the entire season.
Graff also noted that it won't be an easy task to win in New Orleans. He tabbed the game as the second-toughest on Minnesota's entire schedule.
Graff wrote:
On Christmas Day, there will be a lot on the line for two of the NFC's best teams in the last five years.
The Vikings return to the site of their playoff victory for a rematch against Drew Brees and Sean Payton. Matchups between Zimmer and Payton are always worth the price of admission, and it'll be fun to see if Zimmer has any more wrinkles (like lining up Danielle Hunter inside) for the Saints again.
This should be a fun contest so late in the season on Christmas Day.
The Week 16 tilt is scheduled to be the fourth appearance by the Vikings on Christmas, which falls on a Friday this year. The team has played three previous games on Fridays.
McShay: Vikings among teams that immediately improved after 2020 draft
It's been two weeks since the 2020 NFL Draft came to a close, but the praise is still rolling in for the Vikings.
Experts lauded Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman's work in the days following the draft with a strong report card, and now ESPN NFL Draft Analyst Todd McShay has joined the chorus.
McShay recently wrote that he believes the Vikings are among the five teams that immediately improved due to their draft haul. Minnesota made 15 picks in the draft, which was a seven-round record.
McShay wrote:
Even though Minnesota doesn't have Aaron Rodgers, it's clear it has the most well-rounded roster in the NFC North. And a big reason is the way General Manager Rick Spielman continues to approach the draft. The Vikings made a ridiculous 15 selections, including two first-rounders. And man, did they make some good ones.
Justin Jefferson is a great fit as a replacement for Stefon Diggs opposite Adam Thielen. The LSU receiver will do most of his work out of the slot, and he's probably the best contested-catch playmaker in the entire class. Jefferson will do the dirty work over the middle and can make some defenders miss with the ball in his hands. Minnesota followed up that pick by moving back a few spots in the first round and addressing the cornerback position with TCU's Jeff Gladney. With good man-to-man skills, he's a future starter and might break through as a top-three option in a barren CB room as a rookie.
McShay also liked what Spielman and his staff did after Day 1, too, as he believed the Vikings added plenty of talent and depth to help restock the roster.
Minnesota was just getting warmed up. Boise State tackle Ezra Cleveland was a steal at No. 58 overall. He has a lot of upper-body strength and will thrive in the Vikings zone-blocking scheme. If he can win the left tackle job, Riley Reiff can bump inside to guard and boost the line overall. I also like the late-round grab of Iowa quarterback Nate Stanley. He has a huge arm and sets up as a good long-term backup at value in Round 7.
If we want to talk about steals, though, I'm not sure it gets much better than Baylor defensive lineman James Lynch at No. 130 in Round 4. The athleticism and testing numbers aren't going to wow anyone, but his tape is impressive. He can play inside or outside, and he displays loads of power and a great ability to finish. In all, it was a really strong three days for the Vikings.
While McShay is a fan of the selection of Lynch, so was former Vikings defensive tackle John Randle.
The Hall of Famer texted Andre Patterson, the Vikings Co-Defensive Coordinator and defensive line coach, soon after the pick and expressed his excitement.
