Last year, the Minnesota Vikings had a schedule set up for them to make a run. Two of their nine games on the road were played at neutral sites. It was a huge benefit that the Vikings weren’t able to take advantage of it, as they lost one of those two games.

The other benefit their 2025 schedule had was a lack of cold-weather games. That was one aspect where it paid off for the Vikings, as they won their final five games, and the only cold-weather game was against the New York Giants in Week 16.

Minnesota Vikings know their Week 18 opponent

The final game of the season is always against a divisional opponent, and the Vikings won their game last year against the Green Bay Packers. This year, they will be facing the Chicago Bears, the first time they will face them in the final week since Mike Zimmer’s last game.

The #Vikings will close the regular season at home against the Bears, per source. They did it five times from 2016-21, but haven’t closed at home against Chicago since Mike Zimmer’s final game as head coach.

— Ben Goessling (@BenGoessling) May 14, 2026

That game has a chance to be the final game of the season on Sunday Night Football, as it could be for the division or a playoff spot. The Vikings have been in that game twice over the past 11 seasons, beating the Packers 20-13 in 2015 and losing to the Detroit Lions 31-9 in 2024.

Since the NFL instituted playing a divisional opponent in 2011, the VIkings have faced the Bears in the final games of the season a whopping seven times. In those games, they are 4-3.

Season	Location	Score	Result
2011	Home	17-13	Loss
2016	Home	38-10	Win
2017	Home	23-10	Win
2018	Home	24-10	Loss
2019	Home	21-19	Loss
2021	Home	31-17	Win
2022	Away	29-13	Win

It will be an interesting game for the Vikings to take on the Bears, as both teams are looking to take the next step toward a Super Bowl.