The Vikings will have a third-place schedule with nine home games and eight road games next year for the 2026 regular season. Minnesota is going to need a better and healthier season out of quarterback J.J. McCarthy to take a step forward, but at least he can say that he won his last four starts of this season.

The Minnesota Vikings beat the Green Bay Packers 16-3 on Sunday to finish the 2025 regular season 9-8, and on a five-game win streak. They won’t be in the NFC Playoffs, but we now know who their 2026 opponents will be.

Minnesota will have the 18th overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft, which is scheduled to take place April 23-25 in Pittsburgh. The Vikings said they've selected from that spot three times in franchise history, selecting defensive back Dewayne Washington in 1994, defensive end Erasmus James in 2005 and center Garrett Bradbury in 2019.

The Vikings are down to their final Sunday of the 2025 season, closing the year at home against Green Bay with a chance to complicate the Packers’ postseason positioning. Beyond that, the calendar is already tilting toward what comes next.

When the schedule first came out, the Week 18 matchup between the Minnesota Vikings and Green Bay Packers looked like it could have profound playoff

The NFL revealed the Week 18 schedule on Sunday, and with neither team having much to play for, the NFC North matchup at U.S. Bank Stadium gets the default slot.

The Minnesota Vikings made several roster decisions before the official start of the offseason around the NFL.

That means Minnesota will now face a third-place schedule in 2026, making its path back to the playoffs tougher than if it had finished last in the division. They face the third-place teams in the NFC West (49ers), NFC East (Commanders), and AFC South (Colts).