Minnesota Vikings vs. Denver Broncos: Odds, Spread, Over/Under and Prediction for NFL Preseason Week 1
By Peter Dewey
One of the tightest quarterback competitions of the offseason will get underway when the Denver Broncos take on the Minnesota Vikings on Saturday afternoon at 4 p.m. EST.
Drew Lock will get the start for the Broncos in Week 1 of the preseason, while Teddy Bridgewater will get the start in Week 2. Since there are only three preseason games this year, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio plans on giving his quarterbacks a decent run in the first two outings.
#Broncos Fangio said look for Drew and Teddy to play more than one quarter in their starts because there is only 3 preseason games. He said they will play more than third stringer Brett Rypien. #Denver7
— Troy Renck (@TroyRenck) August 10, 2021
The Vikings activated rookie Kellen Mond from the COVID-19 list this week, and he should have an opportunity to play in Saturday's matchup.
Bridgewater will get to face the team that drafted him, and the Broncos new general manager, George Paton, previously was in the Vikings front office, so there will be plenty of reunions in this matchup.
Here’s how the odds look at WynnBET for this Week 1 matchup:
Vikings vs. Broncos Spread, Odds and Over/Under
Spread:
Broncos -2.5 (-105)
Vikings +2.5 (-115)
Moneyline:
Broncos: -140
Vikings: +120
Over/Under: 34.5 (Over: -110/Under: -110)
Vikings vs. Broncos Betting Trends
- Mike Zimmer’s teams are 17-8 against the spread in his coaching career.
- Denver was one of the better teams against the spread last season (9-7), while Minnesota was the second-worst team in the NFL (6-10)
- The over hit in 68.8 percent of the Vikings’ games last season (third-highest in the NFL).
- The under is 5-0 in preseason games that Vic Fangio has coached in his career.
Broncos vs. Vikings Prediction and Pick
Who's ready to get in on some NFL preseason action this weekend?@peterdewey2 is looking at the total between the Broncos and Vikings for his best bet of the Week 1 slate. pic.twitter.com/3dgk1ULURs
— BetSided (@BetSided) August 10, 2021
The Broncos certainly have a lot more to figure out in this preseason game as their quarterback competition between Lock and Bridgewater continues.
However, Zimmer is one of the best coaches in the NFL when it comes to his team’s covering the preseason spread (68 percent of the time), and I think that Minnesota +2.5 is the way to go in this one.
The Broncos and Vikings were on opposite ends of the spectrum offensively in the past season, but given Fangio’s strong defensive background and the fact that his team is undefeated on the under in the preseason, I am not going to go against that.
For what it’s worth, Zimmer’s teams are 11-13-1 against the over in the preseason, so it’s not as indicative of their regular season performance. I'll take under 34.5 points in the opener between these two clubs.
Get in on the action with the WynnBET app.