5 Bold Predictions: Minnesota Vikings vs. Cincinnati Bengals – Week 1

The Minnesota Vikings will look to start 2021 with a victory, but can they avoid a letdown against the Cincinnati Bengals?

It was an eventful preseason for the Minnesota Vikings. Caught in a storm of low vaccination rates, almost catastrophic injuries, and a poor preseason performance, the Vikings have finally made it to the regular season. Now that they’re here, they hope to get 2021 off to a good start with a victory over the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Vikings come into Sunday’s game with a slew of storylines. With Mike Zimmer and Rick Spielman presumably on the hot seat, they’re in “win now” mode for the upcoming season. Although training camp and preseason resembled a high-wire act, Minnesota has elite talent throughout their starting lineup but little depth behind it.

Their opponent also has an urgency to win in 2021. Zac Taylor has guided the Bengals through two miserable seasons and will hope that Joe Burrow shows no effects from a multi-ligament knee injury. First-round pick Ja’Marr Chase has struggled throughout camp, and the Bengals spent a ton of money to fix a defense that allowed the same amount of yards per play (6.1) as the Vikings last season.

While the Vikings are favored in this game, the Bengals have enough to pull off an upset. To see how things could play out, we’ll give you five bold predictions.