Half of Vikes’ 2010 slate against playoff teams
By Bud L. Ellis
The odds of the Minnesota Vikings walking out onto the field for a game in 2010 and facing a playoff team are 50-50.
The NFC runner-up and NFC North champion in 2009, the Vikings will play playoff qualifiers from last season in eight of their 16 games this fall.
The National Football League has released its list of every team’s home games and road games. Dates and times will be announced later this spring. But even without knowing kickoff times and the order of the games, the Vikings are assured of having a tough road to plow in order to return to postseason play.
Three of the games against playoff teams comes at home. The Vikings will play host to NFC North runner-up and wild-card qualifier Green Bay, NFC East champion Dallas and NFC West champion Arizona. The rest of the home games come against Chicago, Detroit, the New York Giants, Buffalo and Miami.
The road away from home is much tougher: five of the eight games are against playoff teams. Minnesota travels to Super Bowl champion New Orleans, Green Bay, NFC wild-card team Philadelphia, AFC East champion New England and AFC runner-up, the New York Jets. The other three road games are at Chicago, at Detroit and at Washington.
Minnesota’s schedule is tied for 14th with Chicago for toughest slate, based on opponents’ winning percentage from last season.
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Saturday, March 27, 2010 at 10:45 pm by bud
Tags: Arizona Cardinals, Buffalo Bills, Chicago Bears, Dallas Cowboys, Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, Miami Dolphins, Minnesota Vikings, National Football League, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, New York Giants, New York Jets, Philadelphia Eagles, Super Bowl, Washington Redskins
