The Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings will collide this weekend down in Minneapolis. Both teams are looking to kick things off in the preseason on a positive note, but only one can get that W on Saturday. Check out our preview of this game below.
Broncos head coach Vic Fangio recently remarked that the quarterback battle between Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater is “still even steven.” With that, expect the tight competition to continue for the two this weekend against the Vikings, though Brett Rypien should still be in the mix, in terms of snap shares. The Broncos are looking for improvement on offense after finishing the 2020 NFL season just 28th in the league with only 20.2 points per game. Their defense also needs some work after surrendering 27.9 points per game last year. That’s mostly because of injuries to Bradley Chubb and Von Miller. Both could be healthy in Week 1 of the regular season, but definitely not for this game against Minnesota. Rookie Patrick Surtain will be an intriguing player on defense for Denver against the Vikings, who had a high offensive interception percentage last season.
The under is 7-3 in the Broncos’ last 10 preseason games.
Rookie Kellen Mond won’t likely be there to play against Denver this Saturday. Kirk Cousins has been activated from reserve/COVID-19 list, while Mond is still on it. That means Jake Browning mostly and Nate Stanley could handle the quarterbacking duties in Week 1 of the NFL preseason for the Vikings, who were third a season ago in total yards per game. Cousins is set as the QB1 of the team, so he’s just probably going to rest. The Vikings also have the lowest rate of vaccinated players in the league, so that’s something to keep in mind when betting on Minnesota. Other rookies worth watching out for on the side of Minnesota are OT Christian Darrisaw, LB Chazz Surratt, G Wyatt Davis, DE Patrick Jones, and RB Kene Nwangwu. Tight end Irv Smith has been turning heads in training camp. He’s another player to keep a close eye on.
The Vikings are 4-1 against the spread in their last five preseason games.
