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The 2017 NFL schedule will be released on Thursday at 7:00 PM Central time, and we’ll finally know the when and the where of the Minnesota Vikings’ schedule for the upcoming season. We might already have an idea of where they could be in Week 1, according to this tweet from Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
It has been reported by @BenVolin Atlanta will play on Sunday Night Football in Week 1 to open its new stadium Vikings candidate as the foe
— Chris Tomasson (@christomasson) April 18, 2017
The Atlanta Falcons are opening Mercedes-Benz Stadium this season, and apparently have been told that they’ll be playing Week 1 at home on Sunday Night Football in order to put the new digs on display. The Vikings do have a game in Atlanta on the docket for this season, which we’ve known for quite some time.
The Falcons do have a couple of other potentially intriguing openers on their schedule, notably against the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers, but it’s possible that the networks might want to showcase those games at other points in the season.
Opening on the road wouldn’t be anything new for the Vikings. In the past ten seasons, they’ve gotten the opportunity to open the season at home exactly twice. . .in 2007 against the Falcons and in 2012 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. Even last year when U.S. Bank Stadium was the new kid on the block, the Vikings wound up opening on the road in Tennessee (though the Vikings requested that in order to ensure U.S. Bank Stadium would be ready for its close-up).
But, with the schedule release just about 48 hours away, it appears that the rumors are already starting to flow. Will the Vikings be opening the season on Sunday Night in Atlanta? It appears it’s a possibility.