Minnesota Vikings 2016 schedule is deceptively difficult

With the release of the 2016 NFL schedules, many Minnesota Vikings fans were already counting up the games the team should win, but it’s not quite that easy.

Minnesota Vikings fans got a treat on April 14, 2016 when the season’s schedules were released. Among the 16 regular season contests scheduled by the NFL, Minnesota will be on a national stage 5 times with a possibility of being flexed into another high-profile game during the final two weeks.

But fans are jumping the gun a bit by counting wins already. There are so many things that can happen between now and the start of the 2016 season that claiming the team will win a majority of their games might be assuming a lot. Plus, some of these games are going to be much more difficult than expected.

At first glance, the schedule might seem easy, but there are several types of teams that Minnesota will be playing that makes the opponents deceptively difficult.

More from The Viking Age

• 6 biggest draft steals in Minnesota Vikings history
• Former Vikings first-round pick could reportedly return to NFC North
• Bears analyst has extremely embarrassing Kirk Cousins take
• 6 Vikings who (maybe) won’t make the 53-man roster in 2023
• Predicting what the Vikings will do in the 2023 NFL Draft based on 2022

For example, there are several young teams that may put it all together the way the Minnesota Vikings did recently. Squads like the Tennessee Titans, Jacksonville Jaguars, Philadelphia Eagles, Detroit Lions and even Chicago Bears will likely improve greatly heading into this season and should definitely not be considered “gimmes”.

Next, there are teams that struggled last year, but should return to form following big injuries or picked up some extra pieces of the puzzle to become more complete. These are teams like the Indianapolis Colts, Houston Texans, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants.

Finally, there are the returning playoff teams, which again includes the Houston Texans, but also adds the Green Bay Packers, Arizona Cardinals, Carolina Panthers and Washington Redskins. These teams should always be taken seriously, but some were not even close to full strength and may be even more dangerous this time around.

The point is that the NFL isn’t the kind of sports league where any game should be considered an easy win. With the varied competition, busy schedule, and unpredictability of injuries and circumstances, any schedule, even one with many up-and-coming teams, could be much more difficult than anticipated.

Next: Minnesota Vikings 7 round mock draft

The great thing about this is that the Minnesota Vikings are the defending NFC North champions. That means that they are the team that other squads in the division will be looking to beat this year. With a big target on their back and a lot to prove, this young Vikings team will be hoping to take another big step toward the ultimate goal in football: the Super Bowl.