As the schedules continue to leak out, the Minnesota Vikings are getting a better idea of how the end of the 2025 season will look.
The biggest story from the Vikings' schedule that has been shown so far is their back-to-back international games on the road at the end of September and beginning of October. On September 28, Minnesota will be in Dublin to play the Pittsburgh Steelers. The following week, the Vikings travel to London to play the Cleveland Browns on October 5.
With their international travels planned out, the Vikings found out a home game they will be hosting during the holidays.
Who are the Vikings playing during the holidays?
The Minnesota Star Tribune Vikings reporter Ben Goessling reported that the Vikings will host a home game on Christmas Day against their NFC North rivals, the Detroit Lions. That game will be on Thursday, December 25, with no time scheduled yet.
This game will be one of three played on Christmas, as it has become a new tradition to have NFL games played on the holiday. The Denver Broncos and Kansas City Chiefs have also been confirmed to play on Christmas as the night game. Netflix and Amazon Prime will broadcast the games live.
Minnesota will be looking for revenge on the Lions after losing both of their matchups against them last year, including the critical Week 18 game for a shot at winning the NFC North division and the first seed. Detroit has won five consecutive matchups against the Vikings, dating back to December of 2022.
For the Vikings, this could end up being the season's biggest game as they will most likely have to win to keep pace in the playoffs and win the division. This means that Minnesota will either play the Green Bay Packers or the Chicago Bears in Week 18 to close out the season.
All Vikings fans and the team will be circling the calendar for this matchup as they hope to avoid receiving coal and pick up a much-needed win late in the season.