Vikings' 2015 slate highlighted by Week 1 Monday night game at 49ers
The Minnesota Vikings will open the 2015 regular season at San Francisco's Levi's Stadium. Will they get the chance to finish there, too?
Minnesota will travel to face the San Francisco 49ers for a Monday night opener on Sept. 14. Levi's Stadium will host Super Bowl 50 at the end of next season. The opening game will be one of two primetime games for the Vikings next season as they enter the second year with coach Mike Zimmer and quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
The first home game as Minnesota plays one final season outside at TCF Bank Stadium follows in Week 2.
An in-depth look at the Vikings' 2015 regular-season schedule:
MUST-SEE MATCHUP: Seattle Seahawks at Minnesota, Week 13, noon, (FOX)
Aside from the NFC North division games, hosting the back-to-back NFC champions is the highlight of the schedule for the Vikings. Minnesota has lost two straight games to the Seahawks, the last in 2013, both coming in Seattle. Now the Vikings will have a chance at a home game and will host a Sunday afternoon affair on Dec. 6.
The matchup provides plenty of intrigue: Russell Wilson against Teddy Bridgewater, Wilson and running back Marshawn Lynch against Zimmer's defense, and the many former Vikings who are part of the Seahawks now.
UPSET SPECIAL? Kansas City Chiefs at Minnesota, Week 6, noon, (CBS)
Resisting temptation to call a division game an upset (and with the difficulty in picking one), Minnesota's 2015 schedule doesn't offer many big upset possibilities. The Vikings were 7-9 last year and should be better in the second season with Zimmer and Bridgewater.
The matchup with the AFC West features games against the Denver Broncos (at Denver) and at Oakland (3-13) last year and home games against the San Diego Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs (both 9-7 last year). San Diego and Kansas City are prime "upset" games based solely on record and reputation heading into the 2015 season.
Andy Reid has turned the Chiefs back into a respectable team and they have running back Jamaal Charles and several quality defenders, including last year's NFL sack leader Justin Houston. Yet, with Alex Smith at quarterback and questions with the passing game still, Kansas City could be due for a step back again. Minnesota will be coming off the Week 5 bye rested for what could be a low-scoring game.
FIVE THINGS YOU MAY NOT HAVE NOTICED
1. On the road again: For the sixth time in the past seven seasons, Minnesota will open on the road. The Vikings have won two of those road openers. Fans will have to wait until Week 2 to see their team in person, just like last season after the team opened with a win at St. Louis.
2. Back on Monday night: Minnesota has been off Monday Night Football for the past two seasons. The Vikings' lone primetime game last year was on a Thursday night in Green Bay. They will return to the league's weekly spotlight game in Week 1 at San Francisco.
This year will be the fifth time in franchise history Minnesota opens on Monday night. The game will be the 57th time in Vikings history they will play on Monday night. Not only will Minnesota face a Monday night game, but it will also be a late-night affair, starting at 9:20 p.m. as the second of the NFL's Monday night doubleheader.
3. The new crop: Including the opener at San Francisco, Minnesota will see five new head coaches next season. The 49ers replaced Jim Harbaugh with defensive-minded Jim Tomsula.
The Vikings face Gary Kubiak in Denver, who replaced John Fox. The Broncos' coaching changes have impacted Minnesota's schedule. Chicago hired Fox to replace Marc Trestman. The Vikings' Week 10 opponent, Oakland, hired Jack Del Rio, who was Denver's defensive coordinator.
Atlanta in Week 12 has replaced Mike Smith with former Seattle defensive coordinator Dan Quinn.
4. Outdoors will factor in: The Vikings don't get to open the season at home, outside in September when weather is typically best. In fact, Minnesota has two home games for the first five weeks of the season and three in the first eight weeks. As a result, three home games will be played in December.
5. A rare January game: The Vikings are guaranteed to be playing in January this season. Unfortunately, the guarantee involves a regular-season game. Minnesota finishes the season at Green Bay on Jan. 3. The two cold-weather rivals will play the first January game between them in their long history.
THE OPPONENTS (all times Central)
Week 1 -- Monday, Sept. 14, at San Francisco 49ers, 9:20 p.m. (ESPN): Zimmer and company will be the first to see how the 49ers adjust under Tomsula. San Francisco was an enigmatic group under Harbaugh, but they won. Colin Kaepernick and crew will surely look different under Tomsula's guidance.
Week 2 -- Sunday, Sept. 20, vs. Detroit Lions, noon (FOX): Detroit and its new coach Jim Caldwell got the better of Minnesota and Zimmer last season in winning both games. The Vikings have won 15 of their last 17 home games against the Lions.
Week 3 -- Sunday, Sept. 27, vs. San Diego Chargers, noon (CBS): Minnesota offensive coordinator Norv Turner faces his old team as the Vikings host San Diego for the first time since Turner was coach in 2007.
Week 4 -- Sunday, Oct. 4, at Denver Broncos, 3:25 p.m. (FOX): Much has changed for Denver even after going 12-4 last year. There are new coaches but Peyton Manning is still at the helm of a dangerous offense.
Week 5 -- BYE WEEK
Week 6 -- Sunday, Oct. 18, Kansas City Chiefs, noon (CBS): Reid and the Chiefs have stuck with Alex Smith, who has been efficient. Smith hasn't been a big play quarterback, though, and Kansas City added Jeremy Maclin to replace Dwayne Bowe at receiver to help Smith.
Week 7 -- Sunday, Oct. 25, at Detroit Lions, noon (FOX): How times have changed. Week 7 will be the first of two indoor games this season. The Lions defense, which will have a new look with nose tackle Haloti Ngata and without tackles Ndamukong Suh and Nick Fairley, will have had time to gel.
Week 8 -- Sunday, Nov. 1, at Chicago Bears, noon (FOX): Minnesota will be looking for its first win in Chicago since 2007 in the second of back-to-back games within the NFC North.
Week 9 -- Sunday, Nov. 8, vs. St. Louis Rams, noon (FOX): The Vikings won in St. Louis to open last season. Shaun Hill and Austin Davis were the Rams quarterbacks for that matchup going against Minnesota's Matt Cassel. Now Hill has replaced Cassel as Bridgewater's backup and St. Louis could be starting Nick Foles.
Week 10 -- Sunday, Nov. 15, at Oakland Raiders, 3:05 p.m. (FOX): Bill Musgrave is running Oakland's offense, could an injury lead Christian Ponder to be his quarterback by Week 10? Ponder signed with the Raiders to be Derek Carr's backup.
Week 11 -- Sunday, Nov. 22, vs. Green Bay Packers, noon (FOX): The Vikings don't see Green Bay, the defending NFC North champions, until late November. The Packers have won in Minnesota the past two seasons.
Week 12 -- Sunday, Nov. 29, at Atlanta Falcons, noon (FOX): Teddy Bridgewater's coming out party was at home against Atlanta last season when he received his first NFL start. Bridgewater threw for 317 yards and fellow rookie Jerick McKinnon had his breakout game with 135 yards rushing.
Week 13 -- Sunday, Dec. 6, vs. Seattle Seahawks, noon (FOX): The Seahawks have had the best of Minnesota for two years in Seattle while on their way to becoming the best team in the NFC. Can Minnesota change the outlook at home?
Week 14 -- Thursday, Dec. 10, at Arizona Cardinals, 7:25 p.m. (NFL Network): Arizona could challenge Seattle at the top of the NFC West with its good defense. If only the Cardinals had a running game like Seattle? I wonder if there's a disgruntled running back that would help Arizona.
Week 15 -- Sunday, Dec. 20, vs. Chicago Bears, noon (FOX): John Fox helped stabilize the Broncos, can he do the same for the Bears? Brandon Marshall, Lance Briggs and Charles Tillman are gone. Will quarterback Jay Cutler still be around by Dec. 20?
Week 16 -- Sunday, Dec. 27, vs. New York Giants, noon (FOX): Minnesota gets the Manning double-dip. After facing Peyton earlier in the year, the Vikings see Eli and receiver Odell Beckham Jr. (who beat out Bridgewater for rookie of the year).
Week 17 -- Sunday, Jan. 3, at Green Bay Packers, noon (FOX): What could the weather be like in Lambeau Field in January?
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