Minnesota at Cincinnati

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.