Vikings Schedule 2026 Leak Points to Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium
The vikings schedule 2026 picture took another step forward when a second leak pointed to Minnesota finishing the regular season at home against the Bears. That would put a divisional game on the final week of the slate before Thursday’s formal release.
Ben Goessling and U.S. Bank Stadium
Ben Goessling reported that the Vikings will close the 2026 regular season with Chicago at U.S. Bank Stadium. It is the second schedule leak to surface before the full 2026 schedule is released Thursday, and it gives Minnesota a familiar last game at home.
That final-home-opponent pattern is not new. From 2016 to 2021, the Bears were Minnesota’s final home opponent each season, and in five of those six seasons the game came in the last week of the regular season.
Week 18 in the NFC North
The Bears are not the only division team tied to Week 18. Because every Week 18 game is a divisional matchup, the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions will meet then as well, even though the leaks have not yet shown whether that game will be in Detroit or Green Bay.
The 2020 season added one wrinkle to that stretch. Minnesota still played the Bears in its final home game, but the Vikings had two road games after it, showing that the late-season order has not always ended the schedule at U.S. Bank Stadium.
For Vikings followers, the practical takeaway is simple: the final week already appears headed toward an NFC North game, and the Bears have been the most common opponent in that spot. Thursday’s release should settle the rest of the order, but this leak already sketches the shape of Minnesota’s closing stretch.
