Minnesota Vikings: Big Test Early in 2015

The Minnesota Vikings have a difficult schedule in 2015. The Vikings are facing their usual division foes twice, the AFC West, the NFC West, and the Giants and Falcons. Every team faces tough stretches in a season and the Vikings are no exception. I feel one of the most difficult spots in the schedule is going to be the first four games.

In the first four weeks of the season the Vikings will face the 49ers, Lions, Chargers, and Broncos. Two of those games are at home and two are on the road.

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Opening week against San Francisco will be full of excitement under the lights of the second game of a double-header on Monday night in the bay area with the official start of the new season for the Vikings. It will be interesting to see what kind of state the 49ers will be in with the amount of roster turnover they have had this offseason. I think the Vikings can win this game and start the season off on the right foot.

The week two matchup is the Vikings home opener against the Lions. For me the Lions are always a question mark. You never really know how they’re going to do from season to season. They have a ton of talent on their roster but they are a franchise plagued by inconsistency and their fan base has been tormented by mediocrity for decades. Being the first division game of the season, Minnesota needs to take this one at home and bank that division win for later in the season. They cannot afford to be swept by the Lions this year.

Week three sees the Vikings hosting a rare opponent in the Chargers. This is not a team you can ever take lightly. The offense led by Rivers is always productive and has the potential to have a big night against pretty much any defense in the NFL. Traditionally Rivers and his Chargers play a lot better in the second half of the season than they do in the first and hopefully the Vikings can take advantage of that.

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And the hits keep on coming, week four, the Vikings will travel to Denver to face the Broncos. This offense will not skip a beat even with the change from Fox to Kubiak at head coach. Yes Peyton Manning is old, yes Welker and Thomas are gone but they are still going to be a handful for Zimmer, Edwards and the defense. Factor in the hostile environment at Mile High and it is not a sought after road game for any team in the league.

The good news, to some, is that the Vikings have their bye week immediately following the Denver game. They will have a chance to rest, regroup, and make necessary changes after the opening four-game stretch of the season. There’s no question this is a tough test to open a season, for any team. I think the Vikings can go into the bye week at 2-2 at the very least. If they do any better than that I will be thrilled. I believe this will set the pace for the season, if they show flashes of incredible play in the first four weeks I feel they can carry that momentum right through to December and beyond.

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