For the third time in 10 seasons, the Minnesota Vikings are heading to London.
The NFL announced Wednesday that Minnesota will be the road team for a Week 2 game on Oct. 2 at 8:30 a.m. CDT against the New Orleans Saints at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. That will leave the Vikings with nine home games at U.S. Bank Stadium this season, seven true road games and the London game.
In previous regular-season games in London, the Vikings defeated Pittsburgh 34-27 in 2013 as the home team and defeated Cleveland 33-16 in 2017 as the road team.
The Vikings also defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 28-10 in a 1983 preseason game, the first game of any kind held by the NFL in London.
Minnesota playing in London has been considered likely the past two weeks ago since KSTP-TV and The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported that the Vikings were a possibility to play there. A source told the Pioneer Press last week that reporting was accurate.
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The Vikings last December landed a bid to have marketing rights in the United Kingdom and Canada.
“We are thrilled to once again represent the NFL on a global level and to have an opportunity to play in front of our international fans,” Vikings owner and president Mark Wilf said in a statement. “With our previous London games in 2013 and 2017 and our successful 2021 bid to land the United Kingdom as an international home marketing area, we have seen tremendous international support. This is another chance to directly engage with Vikings fans across the world and bring exposure to Minnesota’s impressive business community and tourism industry.”
Safety Harrison Smith, who appeared in the 2013 and 2017 games, is the only Vikings player in line to play a third Minnesota game in London. Holdovers from the 2017 London game are wide receiver Adam Thielen, edge rusher Danielle Hunter, linebacker Eric Kendricks and fullback C.J. Ham. Running back Dalvin Cook was on the team in 2017, but didn’t go to London due to having suffered a torn ACL.
In the 2017 game, Thielen scored on an 18-yard touchdown pass from Case Keenum in the second quarter. He then did a soccer slide in celebration.
The dates for the remainder of the Vikings’ regular-season schedule will be announced on May 12.
