Earlier in the week, Josh Frey looked into his crystal ball to predict who is going to win. A predictive piece with the NFL schedule isn’t the same thing as cheering.
Contained below is the opinion of your humble author for how the Vikings’ fans ought to cheer in Week 3. The Vikings take on the Buccaneers at 3:05 p.m. CT. In the meantime, the games alongside some advice.
Atlanta Falcons at Green Bay Packers
Well done, Stefanski. Step it up, LaFleur.
Vikings fans should be pleased. Carolina Panthers at Cleveland Browns
Cheering for the Browns is never advised. Toss your purple weight behind the Panthers, a team unlikely to go anywhere anytime soon. They’re a harmless crew.
Tennessee Titans at New York Giants
The normal wisdom says to cheer for the AFC team: the Titans. Something that adds some more spice is that the Giants are in the J.J. McCarthy rumors. Could a New York loss lead to upping the offer for Mr. McCarthy?
Los Angeles Chargers at Buffalo Bills
The Bills are the Vikings of the AFC. Cheer for Buffalo. New York Jets at Detroit Lions
Give this one to the J-E-T-S Jets, Jets, Jets, a team with an odd connection to Vikings passers over the past fifteen-to-twenty years (Brett Favre, Aaron Rodgers, Sam Darnold, Kirk Cousins, Geno Smith, and so on).
Seattle Seahawks at Washington Commanders
Washington is blitzing a ton under the leadership of Daronte Jones, who is a Brian Flores disciple. Minnesota’s fans should be cheering for him.
Cincinnati Bengals at Pittsburgh Steelers
Never cheer for Aaron Rodgers. New England Patriots at Jacksonville Jaguars
Eh, hard to say cheer for the Patriots. That’s like supporting Emperor Palpatine, Monty Burns, or AI. Grant Udinski is still doing some work for Jacksonville; give the former Vikings coach your support.
Houston Texans at Indianapolis Colts
The Texans are a super fun team, largely due to having Danielle Hunter. Houston is the correct answer here even if we should wish Camryn Bynum well. Daniel Jones, too.
Kansas City Chiefs at Miami Dolphins
Gotta feel for the Dolphins. Toss your weight behind them. If you’re watching, keep your eyes on Jacob Rodriguez, the rookie linebacker who feasts on tackles. Thought the Vikings might target him in the draft but they swerved toward Jake Golday with Miami getting Rodriguez. Minnesota Vikings at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Moving on.
Arizona Cardinals at San Francisco 49ers
Cardinals is the correct call here for who to cheer for in this one. Hot take: Jacoby Brissett may have been better for the Vikings in 2026 than Kyler Murray.
Las Vegas Raiders at New Orleans Saints
Kirk Cousins in Sin City is working. What a world. Maybe the Vikings play the Raiders in the Super Bowl. What a world that would be. Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys
The Ravens are the sort of franchise that should inspire the Vikings. So, watch what Baltimore does.
Los Angeles Rams at Denver Broncos
Don’t cheer for Sean Payton. Doing so makes the world a slightly worse place.
Philadelphia Eagles at Chicago Bears
Gotta be the Eagles even if the fine folks of Minnesota likely aren’t in love with Philadelphia’s football team. Senior Editor for Vikings Territory & PurplePTSD . Twitter & Bluesky: @VikingsGazette. Email: k.joudry[at]vikingsterritory[dot]com. Canadian. Jude 1:24-25.
The NFL Schedule and Purple Support
