It starts with experience. Minnesota has played in London twice over the last three seasons. The Vikings won both games. They beat New Orleans in 2022 when the Saints doinked a 61-yard field goal on the final play. Last year, the Vikings navigated a drizzled slop against the New York Jets, and cornerback Stephon Gilmore secured the game-sealing interception off of Aaron Rodgers. Minnesota’s players enjoyed both trips.
The Vikings embraced the chance to expand their brand further into Europe. In fact, the Vikings’ public relations staff even hosted London media members in Minnesota in the months before the Vikings played at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Dublin presents a different set of circumstances, but the Vikings likely view the matchup as an opportunity to expand their reach.
In their previous two London trips, the Vikings traveled late in the week. Vice president of player health and performance Tyler Williams was not interested in acclimating to the time zones for days so much as he was focused on a quick arrival and exit. It’ll likely be different this time around. The Vikings might arrive mere days before the first game against the Steelers. Staying the following week seems most likely.
One of the most interesting layers to this is what an early bye week will mean for the Vikings down the stretch of the season. They have playoff hopes. Much of their roster is older, yet so much of Minnesota’s offseason has been geared toward wanting peak form come January. The early-season travel and break will place further onus on the Vikings’ staff to operate smartly in terms of segmenting snap counts and playing time, especially on defense.