How tough is the Vikings QB schedule?
Ranking every QB the Vikings will face this year
By Matthew Coller
With the NFL’s schedule release, we have some time to project the 2026 season and break down the Vikings’ matchups. Let’s take a closer look at the quarterbacks they will face this year by ranking all of them by degree of difficulty….
1 — Buffalo Bills, Josh Allen
Week 9 at US Bank Stadium
2025 ESPN QBR rank: 7th
2025 PFF grade rank: 6th
EPA per drop-back: 7th
Stats and rankings do not capture Josh Allen like they do with some other quarterbacks. He is better described as a force of nature. At 6-foot-5, 240 pounds, he is a linebacker with a howitzer strapped to his body and he plays with the aggressiveness and fearlessness than you’d expect from Cornelius Bennett or Daryl Talley, not a quarterback. Allen has the best arm strength in the NFL and is very difficult to take down in the running game (he averages 631 yards per year rushing since 2021).
The only question surrounding Allen has been whether he has the weapons to be as consistently dangerous as he could be with an elite wide receiver. His passing stats haven’t quite been the same since Stefon Diggs left. This offseason the Bills traded for DJ Moore, giving him a proven receiver to work with.
Even when he doesn’t have top notch receivers, there is no bigger challenge in the NFL today than Allen. The matchup between him and Brian Flores’ defense has the potential to be epic.
Advantage: Bills
2 — New England Patriots, Drake Maye
Week 17 at New England
2025 ESPN QBR rank: 1st
2025 PFF grade rank: 3rd
EPA per drop-back: 1st
Last year’s MVP runner up elevated into elite quarterback status in Year 2 with the New England Patriots. The No. 3 overall pick in 2024 used every bit of his size, arm strength, accuracy and playmaking ability to lead the Patriots to a Super Bowl appearance.
There is only one weakness that might give you pause about him putting together a big game against the Vikings at home: His tendency to take sacks. Maye was taken down in the backfield 47 times in 2025 for 201 yards lost. Still, against the blitz he was one of the best QBs in the NFL last year with a 116.0 QB rating when opponents send at least five rushers.
Will Maye be able to repeat his breakout season and establish himself as one of the true elite quarterbacks in the NFL or if he will deal with some regression.
Advantage: Patriots
3 — Green Bay Packers, Jordan Love
2025 ESPN QBR rank: 3rd
2025 PFF grade rank: 5th
EPA per drop-back: 2nd
Love is a unique quarterback because the numbers strongly suggest that he’s established himself as a top notch quarterback in the NFL, yet last year finished with so much disappointment that it’s hard to put him in the same category as the Allen/Mahomes/Burrow type QBs who have longer track records of MVP-caliber play.
The story of Love vs. the Vikings is very similar to his career. He has put together some excellent games like in 2023 when he posted 256 yards and three touchdowns and a 125.8 QB rating and he’s also struggled at times like his 185-yard showing in a loss late in the 2024 season.
Volatility is really the word with Love. If he’s hitting deep shots off his back foot to his downfield receivers, he’s a very tough QB to face because his sack avoidance is outstanding. But if he’s not hitting those shots, the Packers offense can become pretty limited around him. To his credit though, that seemed to change when Tucker Kraft was healthy in 2025. If he’s back to 100%, Love’s consistency could improve.
Advantage: Packers
4 — Detroit Lions, Jared Goff
2025 ESPN QBR rank: 18th
2025 PFF grade rank: 12th
EPA per drop-back: 5th
Goff vs. the Vikings has always been a fascinating matchup. In 2023 and 2024, Goff got the better of the Vikings but last year he struggled in both games.
When Goff had Ben Johnson as his offensive coordinator and a rock-solid offensive line, he was able to execute from a clean pocket and pick apart the blitzing Brian Flores defense. When the Lions struggled to deal with Flores’ pressures due to an offensive coordinator change and the retirement of star center Frank Ragnow, it was a totally different story as Goff only managed an 89.3 QB rating and was sacked 10 times in two losses.
If the Vikings can get after him, it’s going to be a long day for the veteran QB. If not, the defense will have its head spinning.
Despite having an obvious kryptonite, Goff has led the Lions to top-five offenses in four straight seasons and they have been top-three in passing yards for the last three years.
To take it a step further, since 2022 Goff leads the NFL in passing yards by over 1,000 yards over the next best quarterback. He has more touchdowns than any other QB since 2022, the third best QB rating, fifth lowest INT percentage, sixth lowest sack percentage, and third most game-winning drives.
Yet he gets talked about like he’s a middling QB. It’s honestly bizarre how little appreciation he gets despite all the numbers pointing toward him being nothing short of an elite quarterback.
5 — San Francisco 49ers, Brock Purdy
2025 ESPN QBR rank: 2nd
2025 PFF grade rank: 4th
EPA per drop-back: 4th
After a down year in 2024, there were questions about whether the 49ers should have paid Purdy and put their eggs in his basket rather than having Kyle Shanahan elevate every QB that plays for him. In 2025, Purdy showed why he was worth it, putting together one of the best seasons in the NFL.
Where he lacks in size, Purdy has top-notch accuracy and anticipation and a baller mentality that shows up in big moments when his team needs a play out of structure.
His matchups against the Vikings have been very interesting because the 49ers have lost both games and he’s had some rough moments vs. Flores’ defense, yet he’s battled hard, completing 74% of passes in the two games and averaging 295.5 yards per game at nearly nine yards per attempt.
It’s never going to be an easy game versus Shanahan’s squad, though it will be interesting to see where Purdy and the offense go as some of the key parts age like Trent Williams, George Kittle and Christian McCaffrey and they revamp the weapons.
6 — Chicago Bears, Caleb Williams
2025 ESPN QBR rank: 16th
2025 PFF grade rank: 16th
EPA per drop-back: 13th
There is no question that playing under Ben Johnson completely changed the course of Williams’ trajectory. He suddenly was capable of executing an offense and playing within structure. At the same time, Williams still struggled with his accuracy and relied heavily on his ability to make clutch plays out of structure.
Williams posted the sixth worst completion percentage in the NFL and ranked 19th in PFF passing grade.
There are two ways to look at that. One would be that if he doesn’t clean up the bad misses, Williams isn’t likely to get away with quite as many last-second wins as he had in 2025. The other view might be that if he does master his accuracy and complete even 65% of passes, he’s going to be an absolute force.
We can say with confidence that he’s been a pain in the backside for the Vikings, even though they’ve won three of four games against him. His scrambling has forced Vikings defenders to chase him around like crazy and three of the games have come down to the final moments. You wouldn’t expect anything less this year.
7 — Washington Commanders, Jayden Daniels
2025 ESPN QBR rank:
2025 PFF grade rank: 18th
EPA per drop-back: 29th
The Commanders couldn’t have asked for anything more out of Daniels than when he opened his career with a 12-5 debut season and a trip to the NFC Championship. In 2024, he threw for 25 TDs to just nine INTs and ran for 891 yards.
The follow-up season that we expected never came to fruition. The Commanders struggled, Daniels struggled and then he suffered a brutal arm injury that kept him out for the majority of the season. When he returned to play against the Vikings, he got throttled and re-injured.
As tough as it was, Daniels has a chance to return with a vengeance and get back to being the QB that he was as a rook. His reckless style is concerning but his combo of speed/accuracy/aggressiveness is rarely found anywhere in the NFL outside of Lamar Jackson.
With a new offensive coordinator in the mix, Daniels should be expected to bounce back and be a handful for the Vikings this time around.
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