Vikings’ NFC North title odds get longer as NFL gifts Lions clear edge in 2025 schedule

Ryan OLeary

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Vikings’ NFC North title odds get longer as NFL gifts Lions clear edge in 2025 schedule image

The Minnesota Vikings spent the entire 2024 season chasing the Detroit Lions in the loaded NFC North, ultimately falling one head-to-head victory shy from the division title in Week 18.

The Lions will face the NFL’s third-toughest schedule based on combined opponent win percentage from last year, but the league’s schedule makers did Detroit a solid which should give it a clear edge over the Vikings and fellow division counterparts Green Bay and Chicago.

Per NFL analyst Warren Sharp, the Lions will play eight games this season with a “rest edge,” meaning their opponents will have fewer days between games on eight separate occasions. No team in NFL history has played more than six games with a rest edge in a single season, according to Sharp, until the 2025 Lions.

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The Vikings, in comparison, will play two games with a rest edge and four at a rest disadvantage in 2025. One of them will be Week 9 at Ford Field against the Lions, who will be coming off a bye in Week 8.

The NFL doesn’t choose the opponents for each team’s schedule. That’s determined strictly by a formula based on the prior year’s results, rotating non-divisional opponents, and other inputs. The NFL can control when teams play on the schedule, however, with an eye on generating interest and revenue for the league the main objective. 

Minnesota could find itself chasing the Lions once again in 2025. The Vikings’ first five weeks of the season are littered with challenges, including four nationally televised games and consecutive matchups overseas.

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Detroit’s a major market, and the Lions have been a good story for multiple years running. The Lions clearly have the talent to be back in the mix for the NFC North title and No. 1 seed once again, and the NFL gave them a not-so-subtle assist.

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Ryan OLeary

Ryan O'Leary has spent his entire professional career in sports multimedia, working as journalist, editor, podcaster, and in live events as a content manager and show emcee. His career highlights include working as a podcast host and audio editor for USA TODAY Sports Media Group, where he led a series of NFL podcasts for the company’s top-performing NFL sites. A born and raised New Englander, Ryan’s career kicked-off in newspapers after graduating from the University of New Hampshire with a degree in journalism. He developed an affinity for small-town youth, high school and college sports, while also realizing his childhood dream of covering the Patriots in multiple AFC Championship Games. Ryan enjoys kicking it with family and friends, beating his dad and brother in chess, and arguing with anyone crazy enough to insist that Tom Brady isn’t the GOAT.