Minnesota Vikings have tough home and road opponents in 2020

The Minnesota Vikings will be playing against some tough opponents in 2020 and several of them are familiar foes the team has struggled with in the past.

Last year was a pretty solid year for the Minnesota Vikings. Their 10-6 record was good enough to put them in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs where they were able to upset the Saints to advance to the Divisional Round before losing to the 49ers.

Now that the offseason is upon Vikings fans, it’s time to start looking ahead at the 2020 NFL season. Although the schedule hasn’t been set yet, fans know who Minnesota will play and where those games will take place.

Here are who the Minnesota Vikings will face during the 2020 NFL season according to Sports Illustrated at U.S. Bank Stadium as well as which teams will host the team during their upcoming contests:

Both home and road

• Chicago Bears
• Detroit Lions
• Green Bay Packers

As usual, the Vikings will play their division opponents both home and on the road. Last year, the division wasn’t too good to Minnesota, as they were swept by both the Packers and the Bears but were able to beat the Lions in both contests. The team will need to improve upon that mark if they want to return to the playoffs in 2020.

Green Bay’s transition to a strong run offense and the dynamic defense of Chicago have made them tough opponents for Minnesota and each could be a legitimate contender to win the NFC North crown in 2020.

Home opponents

• Atlanta Falcons
• Carolina Panthers
• Dallas Cowboys
• Jacksonville Jaguars
• Tennessee Titans

Unlike previous years, there aren’t games that look like Minnesota can sleepwalk through. Both Atlanta and Carolina can be explosive at any time while the Cowboys and Titans have a powerful rushing attack with key players who can change the course of the game.

The only game to really get excited about is Jacksonville, who the Vikings have only played six times in franchise history, winning five of those contests. Minnesota is on a four-game winning streak against the Jaguars.

The worst team the Vikings play from the 2019 season is the Panthers, who ended with a 5-11 record. However, with a new coaching staff and some talent, they could turn that around in a big way.

Last season, the Minnesota Vikings went 6-2 at home, with one of those losses coming when the team was resting their starters. It will be tough to match that mark in 2020, but defending U.S. Bank Stadium is essential.

Road opponents

• Tampa Bay Buccaneers
• New Orleans Saints
• Seattle Seahawks
• Indianapolis Colts
• Houston Texans

Why does it seem like the Vikings always play the Saints and the Seahawks? And why is the game against the Seahawks always feel it is in Seattle? Three of the five road teams are playoff teams from 2019, and that’s a bit scary.

The other two squads Minnesota will face on the road are an underachieving Colts squad and a Buccaneers team that had the league leader in passing yards and receiving duo that took the NFL by storm.

A 4-4 record on the road last year isn’t great and repeating that in 2020 isn’t going to cut it. The Minnesota Vikings will need to be better when not in front of a home crowd, but with these opponents, that could be a tough task

Which games seem the most difficult for the Minnesota Vikings during the 2020 NFL season and are there any games that you would count as an “easy” win for the purple and gold? Let us know in the comments section!