Vikings 2026 NFL Schedule Released for Kyler Murray, J.J. McCarthy's QB1 Battle

All eyes will be on the quarterback battle between Kyler Murray and J.J. McCarthy for the Minnesota Vikings leading up to the 2026 season, and the NFC North team now knows the schedule the winner will face.

Murray or McCarthy will be tasked with leading Minnesota to the playoffs after missing out with a 9-8 campaign in 2025, and here is the full slate standing in the way:

Full schedule information available on the team's official website.

If Murray does end up being the starter in his first season with the Vikings, he will be facing plenty of challenges with this schedule.

Analysis

The Vikings, like the rest of the NFC North, will face the AFC East and the NFC South this season.

The games against the NFC South could be favorable, as all four teams finished below .500 during the 2025 campaign. While there may be some improvement in 2026, the division offers fewer challenges on paper than the AFC East.

Facing the AFC East means going up against the New England Patriots after they reached the Super Bowl and the Buffalo Bills with Josh Allen looking for a Lombardi Trophy of his own. That is quite the one-two punch, even if the New York Jets and Miami Dolphins aren't exactly imposing.

Elsewhere, Minnesota will play the Washington Commanders, Indianapolis Colts and San Francisco 49ers in games outside of the scheduled division ones.

Washington is just one season removed from an NFC Championship Game appearance, San Francisco is an annual contender coming off a 12-5 effort and Indianapolis was a playoff contender before Daniel Jones' injury.

All three of those matchups could be challenging games, and how the Vikings perform may make the difference in what figures to be a loaded NFC North race.

Pivotal Matchups

The NFC North might be the best division in football, so the games that stand out the most on the Vikings' schedule are the ones against the Green Bay Packers, Chicago Bears and Detroit Lions.

After all, all four clubs finished with winning records during the 2025 season. It was the only division that could say that, and the race figures to once again be a daunting one with every team surely targeting the playoffs.

▶️ Full Packers-Vikings Recap

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That means the head-to-head matchups will take on even more importance for the Vikings if they are going to make the postseason.

So will the games against the Commanders and 49ers.

It is not a stretch to suggest Washington will be back in the playoff race if Jayden Daniels remains healthy, and San Francisco is almost always a factor. Minnesota could find itself in a battle for the limited wild-card spots with both teams down the stretch.

And the tiebreaker from head-to-head wins could be the difference.