Our Staff Prediction for Vikings at Bengals
Dustin Baker
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The VikingsTerritory collective staff prediction for the Minnesota Vikings showdown in Cincinnati is ready.
Minnesota encounters a somewhat “easy” opponent in Week 1 — at least in terms of experts’ positioning of the Bengals in preseason power rankings. Led by the now-healthy Joe Burrow, the slightly revamped Cincinnati offensive and defensive lines will get a shot at the Vikings to start 2021.
And the writers at VikingsTerritory unanimously predict the Vikings will be victorious.
All 12 contributors polled believe Minnesota will be triumphant on Sunday.
Here’s how the panel sees the score for Week 1:
- Dustin Baker: Vikings Win, 27-13
- Sean Borman: Vikings Win, 28-24
- Josh Frey: Vikings Win, 31-24
- Henrique Gucciardi: Vikings Win, 31-10
- Wes Johnson: Vikings Win, 27-20
- Kyle Joudry: Vikings Win, 31-17
- Kirby O’Connor: Vikings Win, 31-24
- Bob Sansevere: Vikings Win, 24-21
- Ali Siddiqui: Vikings Win, 27-17
- Rick Sosa: Vikings Win, 41-17
- Andrew Waters: Vikings Win, 27-14
- Mike Wobschall: Vikings Win, 31-16
Mathematically en masse, we predict the Vikings will topple the Bengals, 30-17.
There are storylines aplenty to monitor, too. Mike Zimmer coaches against his old team for the first time in the state of Ohio. Zimmer spent six seasons as defensive coordinator in Cincinnati. He even still has a ranch in the vicinity. Riley Reiff, who departed the Vikings this offseason, now plays left tackle for the Bengals. Justin Jefferson meets his LSU teammates in Joe Burrow and Ja’Marr Chase. Mackensie Alexander gets a career “this is your life” this weekend. He played for the Vikings in four seasons, bolted to Cincinnati for one, and returned to Minnesota this spring. Nick Vigil, Minnesota’s starting weakside linebacker, was employed by the Bengals for the entirety of his rookie contract. He’ll play against them Sunday. Then, the Vikings have not won a football game in Cincinnati since the Bill Clinton presidency – 29 years ago.
That will change, though. Our formal prediction is the Vikings get off to a 1-0 start after a 30-17 win over the Bengals.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).