Cincinnati Bengals vs Minnesota Vikings Point Spread Picks

Jake Browning will replace Joe Burrow, who is out indefinitely with a turf toe injury. Browning rallied the Bengals to a 31-27 victory over Jacksonville with 241 yards passing and two TDs, and he scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 1-yard sneak with 18 seconds left. He went 4-3 as a starter in 2023. Browning has good targets in Ja'Marr Chase, who had 14 catches for 165 yards and a TD against the Jaguars. Tee Higgins caught three passes for 56 yards. Cincinnati has won seven in a row dating to last season, and it has covered four of five after scoring more than 30 points in its previous game. Minnesota will also start a backup quarterback, although it might be an improvement from J.J. McCarthy's performance so far. McCarthy has had one good quarter and is now out with an ankle injury. Carson Wentz hasn't been a starter since 2022 with Washington, and he will be playing behind a decimated offensive line for Minnesota. The Vikings have gone UNDER five straight against the AFC, and Sunday's 22-6 loss to the Falcons stayed UNDER by 16.5 points. Minnesota totaled just 198 yards of offense. Take the Bengals and the UNDER.

Minnesota is in the playoff hunt and has a +24 scoring differential, the fourth-best in the NFC. They're on a 7-3 SU, 7-2-1 ATS run. The defense is Top 10 in yards allowed, plus fifth in points given up and versus the run. Last place Cincinnati is getting outscored by seven points. Star quarterback Joe Burrow is done for the season, so backup QB Jake Browning has had to step in. For this game the top two wideouts WRs Ja'Marr Chase and Tyler Boyd are not 100%. Cincinnati's defense is 31st in yards given up (379.2 per game) and 28th on third down. The Bengals are on a 2-3 SU/ATS run and have failed to cover two of their last three home games. Play Minnesota.

The Minnesota Vikings defense has been the staple of this team throughout the Mike Zimmer era. They have been in the top 10 every year. Last year the Vikings allowed just shy of 30 points per game. That was in the bottom three in the league. They had a couple of All-Pro defenders miss the 2020 season, and they upgraded their secondary through free agency. I would expect the Vikings will return to form this season and once again have a top 10 defense. Joe Burrow will return from an injury, but he averaged just 5.6 yards per attempt prior to the injury, so the Vikings' defense should be in control in that matchup. The biggest edge may belong to a somewhat pedestrian offense going against a low-level defense of the Bengals that finished last season in the bottom five. There is a reason why the Vikings are favored on the road in this one, and I don't think they are favored by enough. Make the play on Minnesota.

The Minnesota Vikings lost for the first time since October 1st when Carolina beat them 31-24. The Vikings defense is suddenly looking a bit more tired, and a bit more vulnerable. Since running off six straight games of not allowing any team more than 17 points, the Vikings have allowed 23, 30, and 31 in three of their last five games. Cincinnati played their worst game of the season last week vs. Chicago, falling 33-7. I would tend to throw that game out, but many will be thinking if the Bears held Cincinnati to seven points, what will the Vikings do? Cincinnati will take on a different attitude against a 10-3 team, and they did score 20+ in four straight prior to the Bears debacle last week. Take this one to finish OVER.

The Minnesota Vikings are ready to take it to the next level after winning their division for the first time in six years and an improved offensive line will be one of the main reasons. The Vikings added free agents Alex Boone and Andre Smith to bolster the protection that was lacking for Teddy Bridgewater last season, but he still was able to complete 65.3 percent of his passes for 3,231 yards with only nine interceptions. Stefon Diggs, who has looked excellent in training camp, led the team as a rookie with 52 receptions and 720 yards and top draft pick Laquon Treadwell will add another target for Bridgewater.  Of course, Adrian Peterson is back after leading the NFL with 1,485 yards rushing on 4.5 yards per carry. Bridgewater's backup, Shaun Hill, is in his 15th season and played in three games last year after starting eight games for St. Louis in 2014. Taylor Heinicke and rookie Joel Stave are next on the depth chart. Mike Zimmer takes the preseason very seriously as he is 8-1 straight-up and 7-2 ATS in his two seasons as Vikings coach, including 2-0 ATS in the first preseason game. Cincinnati looks to recover from a bizarre playoff loss to Pittsburgh and the Bengals will have a new offensive coordinator in Ken Zampese, who takes over for Hue Jackson, Cleveland's new head coach. Quarterback AJ McCarron will back up Andy Dalton again followed by Keith Wenning and rookie Joe Licata. Giovani Bernard saved the day for the Bengals as he rushed for 730 yards on 4.7 yards per carry after Jeremy Hill failed to live up to expectations. The Bengals lost Marvin Jones and Mohamed Sanu from the receiving corps, however, A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert remain as Dalton's targets. Both teams have capable backup QBs, which is important in preseason, but the Vikings have no major injuries and Zimmer's preseason record cannot be ignored. Play the Vikings and the OVER.