Minnesota Vikings vs Cincinnati Bengals Prediction, 9/12/2021 NFL Pick, Tips and Odds, Week 1

Game: Minnesota Vikings vs Cincinnati Bengals

Date: Sunday, September 12, 2021

Location: Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, OH

TV: FOX

Odds/Point Spread: Bengals (+3.5)

Total/Over-Under: 48.5

The Cincinnati Bengals (4-11-1 last season) are hosting the Minnesota Vikings (7-9-0 last year) at Paul Brown Stadium on Sunday. Minnesota opens this contest as 3.5-point favorites. The over/under has been set at 48.5.

The Minnesota Vikings ended the season holding a 7-9-0 record. In their last contest, the Vikings played the Lions and notched a win by a score of 37-35. Alexander Mattison was the leader on the ground for the Vikings with 21 carries for 95 yds (4.5 yards per carry). Justin Jefferson held an average of 14.8 yds per catch by accounting for 133 yards on 9 catches. Kirk Cousins went 28/40 with 405 yards passing and 3 TDs. He had a quarterback rate of 127.6 and walked away from the game with no interceptions. In the running game, the Vikings conceded 129 yards on 22 tries, which calculates to 5.9 yards per rush surrendered. Minnesota conceded 20 pass completions on 31 tries for a total of 288 yds, and a completion rate of 64.5%. When all was said and done, they ran 74 plays which totaled 508 yds. The Minnesota Vikings ended up rushing 31 times and accounted for 125 yds, which had them averaging 4.0 yards per attempt.

When talking about getting in the endzone, the Minnesota Vikings averaged 26.9 points per game. As a team they averaged 142.7 yds on the ground, which had them sitting 5th in the league. The Vikings tallied 6,292 total yards for the prior campaign. Minnesota earned 35 touchdowns via the pass and 20 rushing touchdowns. Minnesota totaled 212 1st downs as an offense, and they committed 82 penalties for 650 yds. They gave the ball to the opposition 23 times (13 picks and 10 fumbles lost).

Regarding passing yards, the Vikings allowed 4,141 yards which had them ranked 25th in the league. In their 16 games played, they surrendered 258.8 yards per game via the pass in addition to surrendering a completion percentage of 66.2%. They gave up 393.3 yards per contest which ranked them 27th in the league. They conceded 30 touchdowns through the air as well as 19 running touchdowns. Opposing teams ran for an average of 4.6 yards per rush and 134.4 rushing yards per game for the previous season. Over the course of last season, they allowed 2,151 yards via the ground game in 16 games. The Vikings were sitting in 29th in the National Football League in relation to the opposition scoring, giving up 29.7 PPG.

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The Bengals wrapped up their year holding a 4-11-1 record. When they last stepped on the field, the Bengals took a loss by a score of 38-3 against the Ravens. Brandon Allen ended the contest with 48 yds on 6/21 through the air while his quarterback rating was 0.0. He threw 2 interceptions and his longest pass completion was 21 yds. Samaje Perine carried the football 9 times for 51 yds, finishing the game with 5.7 yds per carry for Cincinnati. Drew Sample was a featured target for the Bengals, snagging 2 passes for 15 yds (7.5 yds per catch). Cincinnati rushed the ball for 7.7 yards per carry, finishing with a total of 147 yds on 19 carries. The Bengals finished the game with a total of 195 yards while running 40 plays (4.9 yards per play). The Bengals pass defense gave up a completion rate of 57.9%, relinquishing 121 yards on 11 out of 19 passing. Cincinnati surrendered 54 rush attempts for 404 yds (7.5 yds per carry).

The Cincinnati Bengals held an average of 319.8 yards per game which ranked them 29th out of all teams in the NFL. They tossed 11 picks while conceding 13 fumbles and they tallied 201 1st downs. They averaged 104.3 run yards per game and toted the ball for 1,668 yards overall. The Cincinnati offense had 675 yards of penalties on 83 violations, which was 24th in football in terms of giving up free yards. Last season, the Bengals had a total of 3,448 passing yards as well as averaging 215.5 throwing yards per outing, which was ranked 27th out of all NFL teams. In relation to putting points on the board, the Bengals ranked 29th in the NFL with a maintained average of 19.4 points per outing.

The Bengals relinquished 26.5 PPG, which had them ranked 22nd in the league. In total, they surrendered 424 total points. Cincinnati gave up a total of 2,368 yards rushing (148.0 yards/game) and 13 touchdowns by ground last season. They yielded 32 touchdowns through the air and 241.2 yards per outing, which had them sitting 19th in football. The Bengals defense participated in 1,021 plays, which ranked 13th in the league. Their defense compiled 17 turnovers (6 fumbles recovered and 11 picks) over the course of the prior season.

Who will win tonight's Vikings/Bengals NFL game against the spread?

Parlays Pundit's Pick: Take the Bengals +3.5 and over 48.5 total points

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