The NFC North Division Champion Minnesota Vikings' 2010 regular season schedule has the team picking up right where they left off last January in the NFC title game. Thursday, September 9th, 2010 is the NFL's Kickoff Game, where the Super Bowl Champion New Orleans Saints will host the Vikings at 7:30 on NBC to launch the 2010 season. The Saints beat the Vikes here in the NFC title game nine months earlier to win the conference title. They went on to beat Indianapolis in the Super Bowl.
Minnesota is again expected to compete for the NFC crown (particularly if Brett Favre returns, as is currently the belief) and a brief analysis of their schedule raises some interesting questions within that context.
Minnesota Vikings Week 4 Bye Could Make For a Rough Late-Season
A week four bye is awfully early in a 17 week schedule, all-the-more so when your aging quarterback tends to need his break much later in the season. Following that early bye on October 3rd, the Vikings head into a five-game stretch that will most likely determine their January plans. Starting with a Monday Night Football appearance at the New York Jets on October 11th, Minnesota plays five straight 2009 playoff teams, three of them on the road.
Other opponents in this stretch include the Dallas Cowboys (whom Minnesota beat in the 2009 playoffs), at New England, home versus the Cardinals (who handled the Vikes too easily in '09), and the game-to-circled on the calendar, at Green Bay Sunday night October 24th. It will be Favre's second return to Lambeau field since his awkward departure after the 2007 season. The Vikings beat the Packers in both Farve-led match-ups last season.
The second half of the Vikings 2010 season will be fairly conference-heavy, and also include the only other prime-time game, versus the Chicago Bears at Soldier Field, on Sunday night December 20th at 730 p.m. It will also be NFC-east-heavy, featuring contests against the Redskins, Eagles and Giants, a true test for Favre's durability, as he turns 41 in October.
Minnesota Vikings 2010 Regular Season NFL Schedule/Home in Bold
- Thur Sep 9 at New Orleans Saints 7:30 p.m. NBC
- Sun Sep 19 Miami Dolphins Noon CBS
- Sun Sep 26 Detroit Lions Noon FOX
- Sunday October 3 **BYE**
- Mon Oct 11 at New York Jets 7:30 p.m. ESPN
- Sun Oct 17 Dallas Cowboys 3:15 p.m. FOX
- Sun Oct 24 at Green Bay Packers 7:20 p.m. NBC
- Sun Oct 31 at New England Patriots 3:15 p.m. FOX
- Sun Nov 7 Arizona Cardinals Noon FOX
- Sun Nov 14 at Chicago Bears Noon* FOX
- Sun Nov 21 Green Bay Packers Noon* FOX
- Sun Nov 28 at Washington Redskins Noon* FOX
- Sun Dec 5 Buffalo Bills Noon* CBS
- Sun Dec 12 New York Giants Noon* FOX
- Mon Dec 20 Chicago Bears 7:30 p.m. ESPN
- Sun Dec 26 at Philadelphia Eagles Noon* FOX
- Sun Jan 2 at Detroit Lions Noon* FOX
Vikings Preseason Games All West
The Minnesota Vikings preseason begins with two away games, against St. Louis August 14th and SanFrancisco August 22nd. Those will be followed by two home games versus Seattle August 28th and Denver September 2nd. Follow the Minnesota Vikings at their website Vikings.com.
Dale Van Every - Dale Van Every is a freelance and fiction writer living in Minneapolis, Minnesota. He earned his Masters Degree in English Literature from ...
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