Vikings' European excursion allows them to avoid two traditional road games

The Vikings' short-straw road trip to Europe for back-to-back games against the Steelers in Ireland and the Browns in London comes with a competitive advantage. Minnesota will have two fewer traditional road games than they would have had in 2025.

Like all NFC teams in the odd-numbered years, the Vikings have eight home games and nine road games. By playing two of those games on a neutral site, the Vikings will have only seven true road games.

With none of the other NFC North teams selected for international road games in 2025, the Lions, Bears, and Packers will each have nine usual road games.

The Rams, Commanders, and Falcons are the only other NFC teams that will have a neutral-site road game.

So, yes, although the Vikings' schedule will be disrupted by playing two games on consecutive Sundays on foreign soil, they will entire truly hostile territory two fewer times than the rest of the division, and most of the conference. And while it won't matter if the Vikings lose both games, they're getting an enhanced opportunity to win by not having the play in Pittsburgh or Cleveland. Especially if either or both of those games otherwise would have been scheduled for later in the season, when weather could be a factor.

The dome-team Lions, in contrast, will play their two AFC North road games at Baltimore and Cincinnati. If either or both happen after Halloween, the elements could add to the overall difficulty — along with the fact that they'll be facing the Ravens and Bengals in their normal home environments.

When it's time to convert the final standings into a seven-team playoff tree, the Vikings could have an edge. It won't matter if they aren't generally "good" in 2025. If they're good enough to compete for a postseason berth, the two games on the other side of the Atlantic Ocean could be the difference between winning the division or finishing second — or between making the playoffs or missing out.