A team that thinks it’s ready to take the next step after a rebuild, and a team that thinks they have a great shot at making the playoffs will square off Sunday at Paul Brown Stadium, as the Cincinnati Bengals will host the Minnesota Vikings. The Bengals are ready to take the next step under head coach Zac Taylor. Minnesota thinks that they have a team that can contend for the NFC North title. It’s time we take a look at our NFL Betting analysis for the upcoming match between the Vikings and the Bengals.
NFL Betting Preview for Vikings vs Bengals
Cincinnati Bengals Preview
When talking about the Bengals, it all starts with Joe Burrow. The former top pick in the draft looks to be healthy after tearing his ACL last season. Cincinnati added a weapon for Burrow in last year’s draft, as they spent their first selection on Burrow’s former LSU teammate, wide receiver Ja’Marr Chase. Chase, along with Tyler Boyd, Joe Mixon, and Samaje Perine should be a formidable set of skill players. The Bengals have also made some upgrades to their offensive line to help protect Burrow.
Defensively, the Cincinnati Bengals struggled last season. They especially struggled upfront. The Bengals couldn’t get to the quarterback, thus it was easy to move the ball against them. They made some upgrades to the defensive front this offseason, so they’re hoping that those moves will pay off. If the Bengals want to contend for a playoff spot soon, they will need to have better play on the defensive side of the ball.
Minnesota Vikings Preview
Quarterback Kirk Cousins has been blamed for much of Minnesota’s struggles. Cousins always seems to get blamed for any of the Vikings’ issues. When running back Dalvin Cook is healthy, he makes Cousins’ life a lot easier. Cook is one of the top backs in the NFL and brings a lot to the Vikings offense. Wide receiver Justin Jefferson had a great rookie season and will look to build upon that this year. If he can continue to get better, we should see a lot of the Cousins to Jefferson combination. We can’t forget about how good Adam Thielen is either.
Minnesota didn’t have many key defensive players last year due to injuries and COVID. Those players should be back this year and should make the Minnesota defense a force that it was in the 2019 season. With those players back, plus the addition of Patrick Peterson, the Vikings’ defense should be much improved.
This is a team with playoff aspirations. We’re not sure if they’re good enough to beat the Packers for the NFC North title, but they will be a strong contender.
Prediction
Las Vegas had deemed that the Vikings are a three-point favorite on the road. In looking at some numbers, the Vikings are 0-7 against the spread in their last seven. The Cincinnati Bengals are 5-2 against the spread in their last seven, so the numbers say that the Bengals are the best bet.
However, we don’t always follow the numbers. The Vikings should have one of the best offenses in the league, and we’re not sure that the Bengals’ defense will be able to stop them. Joe Burrow and company will be able to score some points, but they won’t be able to keep up with the Vikings. Minnesota wins this one while covering the spread.
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