The Minnesota Vikings are hoping to capitalize on one of the advantages of being a professional team in the Midwest this season. Bill Speros of bookies.com calculated the distance that each team in the NFL will have to travel this season and the Vikings will have a favorable travel schedule. They rank fifth in the NFL for the fewest projected travel miles, as they will travel a total of 13,226 miles during their nine road games, crossing 16 time zones.
The Vikings’ nine road games this season are relatively close, which is helpful since all their division rivals are less than 550 miles away. Last season the Vikings traveled 18,360 miles. This ranked 19th in the NFL and included a trip to London.
When the Vikings traveled to London last season, they worked with trainer Tyler Williams to determine the best way to deal with the time change, a decision praised by the players. Although the NFL schedule has not been released yet, minimizing travel is always beneficial for a team looking to optimize their recovery following games.
With the NFL being highly competitive, teams need every advantage they can get, and the Vikings will seek to make the most of the minimal travel they have to do this season.
