Minnesota Vikings vs. Cincinnati Bengals 8/12/16 NFL Preseason Picks

Vikings vs. Bengals Prediction

Will tonight’s preseason matchup between the Vikings and Bengals be low-scoring for bettors?

According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the Bengals are 2.5-point home favorites versus the Vikings after the line opened at Cincinnati -3. As for the total, the number opened at 35 and that’s where it remains heading into tonight’s 7:30PM ET kickoff.

Bet Tonight’s Vikings vs. Bengals Preseason Game

The Vikings will largely return the same core that won the NFC North Division last season, although Adrian Peterson won’t play tonight. He has been held back at training camp with a slight hamstring strain and there’s no sense in Mike Zimmer rushing his best player onto the field in a meaningless preseason game tonight. Chances are Teddy Bridgewater will play a series or two before giving way to backup Shaun Hill, however.

The Bengals will look slightly different offensively after losing Marvin Jones (FA/Lions) and Mohamed Sanu (FA/Falcons) this offseason, although Andy Dalton, A.J. Green, Tyler Eifert and running backs Jeremy Hill and Giovani Bernard all return. The biggest question mark on that side of the ball for Cincinnati will be whether or not the players can grasp new offensive coordinator Ken Zampese’s system now that former OC Hue Jackson is the head coach in Cleveland.

OUR PICK: With Peterson unlikely to play and both starting quarterbacks seeing limited action, this game should be low-scoring throughout. Playing into that notion is the fact that both defenses are solid and boast quality depth, so neither team is likely to reach the 20s tonight in Cincinnati.

 

NFL WEEK 1 PRESEASON FREE PICK: VIKINGS/BENGALS UNDER 35