We've known since last May that the Minnesota Vikings would be closing out the 2025 regular season inside U.S. Bank Stadium against the rival Green Bay Packers. However, we didn't know the exact date and time of the matchup until it was revealed on Sunday.
After the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Chicago Bears in the Week 17 edition of NBC's "Sunday Night Football," the full schedule for the league's Week 18 slate was revealed.
Unsurprisingly, a non-playoff team taking facing an opponent that's expected to sit its starters won't be one of the featured primetime matchups next weekend. Instead, Minnesota and Green Bay's contest will kick off at 12 p.m. CST next Sunday and the game will air on CBS.
Minnesota Vikings favored to beat Green Bay Packers in Week 18
It's still early, but following Sunday's Week 17 games around the NFL, the latest odds from the FanDuel Sportsbook have the Vikings favored by 5.5 points over the Packers in next weekend's NFC North battle.
Despite Green Bay having a better record and already qualifying for this season's playoffs, Minnesota being favored to win in Week 18 shouldn't come as a surprise.
First, the Packers' seeding in the postseason (NFC's No. 7 seed) cannot change with a win or loss next Sunday, so they are expected to have several notable starters not play in the game against the Vikings.
Second, Minnesota just earned a 13-point victory over the Detroit Lions on Christmas Day despite throwing for a total of just three (three!) passing yards. So even if Green Bay was going to have most of their top players take part in the contest, there's a good chance that the Vikings would still be favored next weekend, even if just by a small amount.
Back in Week 12, the Packers cruised to a 23-6 win over Minnesota, and even though the result of next Sunday's rematch is meaningless, there's a good chance that the Vikings would still love nothing more than to close out the 2025 season by getting a dominating win over their most-hated rival.