The Vikings will open the regular season on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers at U.S. Bank Stadium and then won’t play another NFC North rival until Nov. 1 when they travel to Lambeau Field. That means the Vikings will play five divisional games in the final 10 weeks of the season.
Much will change between now and then but here is one thought on each of the Vikings’ three division foes.
CHICAGO
The Vikings will face the Bears in Weeks 10 and 15, with the first meeting being a Monday night game at Soldier Field. The question is who will be the Bears quarterback by that point? And, honestly, with the way the Vikings play at Soldier Field will it even matter? (The Bears have won eight of the past 10 meetings at Soldier Field.)
Mitchell Trubisky, who did not have his fifth-year option picked up by the Bears, beat out Nick Foles for the job in training camp after Chicago acquired Foles from Jacksonville for a draft pick in March. The second-overall pick in the 2017 draft, Trubisky has been an enormous disappointment and his presence is a constant reminder that the Bears passed on Patrick Mahomes (10th pick by Kansas City) and Deshaun Watson (12th pick by Houston).
So when Foles was acquired it seemed like he would have the advantage in the quarterback competition. The question is whether the Bears really believe Trubisky can grab the spot long term, or if they are just giving him one final chance in order to try to save face before turning to Foles. If the latter is true, it won’t be surprising if Foles is the starter by the time the Bears play host to the Vikings.
DETROIT
Adrian Peterson is back in the NFC North after bouncing from New Orleans to Arizona to Washington following 10 seasons as a Viking. Peterson always will be remembered as a Viking — he’s the leading rusher in franchise history — and he will one day go into the Pro Football Hall of Fame based on what he did in purple.
But the 35-year-old Peterson’s continued pursuit of the all-time NFL rushing title — he is fifth on the list with 14,216 yards — means he won’t retire until no team and will take him and the Lions are the latest club to welcome him to their roster. Darrell Bevell, who was Peterson’s offensive coordinator when he arrived in Minnesota, now holds the same job in Detroit.
Peterson signed on Monday and you can bet he already has circled Nov. 8 and Jan. 3 on his calendar. Those are the dates on which the Lions will play the Vikings, the first being at U.S. Bank Stadium and the second being the regular-season finale in Detroit.
It’s no sure thing that Peterson will last the entire season on the Lions’ roster — the Saints traded him after four games in 2017 and he only lasted six games with Arizona. But if Peterson is still with the Lions for both games against Minnesota, there is no question he will be out to prove something to his former coach, Mike Zimmer, and the Vikings’ defense.
Unfortunately for Peterson, at this point in his career that desire might not make a difference.
GREEN BAY
This might be the most interesting thing to watch in the division based on what happened during the offseason. Aaron Rodgers is in no immediate jeopardy of losing his job to first-round pick Jordan Love. In fact, Tim Boyle will remain the Packers’ No. 2 quarterback to open the season. But Rodgers isn’t going to be thrilled that the Packers and coach Matt LaFleur drafted his successor with the 26th pick, when they could have addressed a big-time need at wide receiver.
Rodgers now knows how Brett Favre felt when Green Bay grabbed Rodgers with the 24th pick in the 2005 draft. The difference was that Rodgers had to sit behind Favre until finally getting his chance to take over in 2008. It’s highly unlikely the Packers are going to do that again, considering one of the most important things about drafting a quarterback is giving him plenty of time to play while he’s on his rookie contract. That creates room for teams to make all types of moves under the salary cap and can either end up looking either genius or idiotic, depending on how the young quarterback peforms.
So when is the 36-year-old Rodgers going to be done in Green Bay? Let’s just say the clock is ticking and Rodgers knows that. Short term that could be bad news for a team like the Vikings, considering Rodgers will be looking to show that he still has his fastball. Of course, potential friction between Rodgers and LaFleur would not be a bad thing for Minnesota, or any other NFC North foe. And if the Packers do move on from Rodgers to Love sooner rather than later, it could mean a run of greatness that began in 1992 with Favre, and continues to this day, finally will be coming to an end.