The Minnesota Vikings are set to take on the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday afternoon in Week 3.

When looking at this matchup, you have to start with the Vikings being 6-0 against the Bengals. They have lost the last two meetings by a field goal, both came in overtime. The biggest storyline is going to be with the backup quarterbacks, as Carson Wentz and Jake Browning will be getting the start.

How do things look with the Cincinnati Bengals? I spoke with A to Z Sports’ Bengals beat writer John Sheeran to break them down.

Jake Browning isn’t the caliber of player that Joe Burrow is, but the offense doesn’t seem to lose much at all. Will that continue heading into Sunday’s game?

I think it depends on how aggressive Brian Flores decides to be. Opposing DCs see Browning and think they can blitz and deploy man coverage against him, and then forget the best group of pass-catchers are at his disposal and he can still get the ball out quickly and accurately. That’s where the production comes from. If he gets the Burrow treatment and defenses force him to hold onto the ball and find soft spots of zone, he’ll look like a backup.

Judging by the first two weeks, it appears the Vikings don’t play very much man-to-man and are actually only behind the Bengals in Cover 6 usage per Football Insights. That doesn’t inspire much confidence from my side of things, but maybe the plan changes this week. Regardless, Browning will have to make better decisions than last Sunday when he tossed three interceptions.

The offensive line seems to be a continuous weak point. Why does it continue to be a struggle and how can the Vikings best attack it?

Force the Bengals to run the ball. Force them to execute any blocking scheme. It all looks like a foreign concept to them right now. People love to talk about pass protection, but for the most part, that’s held up. I know what just happened with Burrow, but seriously, pass protection is their relative strength.

That said, throw some twists and stunts their way and you’ll get results more times than not. Orlando Brown Jr. and Amarius Mims are fairly reliable in one-on-one situations, but forcing the unit to work cohesively right now is a tall task.  

Trey Hendrickson has been an absolute force on the edge. How can the Vikings work to neutralize him? Who can step up with Hendrickson being a focus?

I will say neutralizing him is not a plan likely to work. He’s playing phenomenal ball right now and I would say only a healthy Christian Darrisaw can stop him Sunday. If Darrisaw doesn’t go, then he’s the one aspect of Cincinnati’s defense that’s guaranteed to show up.

The problem is he has about as much help as he had last year, which is basically none. Shemar Stewart isn’t going to play due to an ankle injury. Joseph Ossai and Myles Murphy have been ghosts for two weeks. B.J. Hill is their best interior rusher, and that’s more of an indictment on their other defensive tackles. The Bengals put it all on Hendrickson and it eventually works in critical moments of the day, but the lack of help around him is staggering and is an advantage for the opposition. 

Final Score Prediction

Cincinnati is a three-point underdog in this one, which is fitting since the last two meetings between these teams have been decided by a field goal. I will say the Bengals should still have the better quarterback, as there’s a reason Carson Wentz hasn’t been on the same team for more than a year since the start of the decade, but playing on the road in a hostile environment against a very good coaching staff is never easy. If I had any faith in the Bengals’ run game, I’d predict them to win, but I’ll need to see it to believe it.

Vikings 22, Bengals 17

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