The Minnesota Vikings are set to play in their third primetime game of the season when they face the Denver Broncos on Sunday night.
The last time the Vikings faced off against the Broncos, they came down from a 20-0 deficit and beat the Broncos 27-23 with a goal-line stand. The last time the two teams played in Denver, it was the Stefon Diggs breakout party, but Peyton Manning outdueled Teddy Bridgewater for a 23-20 victory.
Both of these teams are riding winning streaks with the Vikings having won five-straight and the Broncos winning three-straight. Our staff and Jon Heath, the managing editor of Broncos Wire, give our score predictions for Sunday night’s game
Managing editor Tyler Forness
Record: 7-3
This is a tough game. Both teams are riding heaters but the Vikings are currently on a bigger one, having won five in a row. The momentum they have is incredible and they have been doing it without multiple star players, including Justin Jefferson missing the last five games. The Vikings are going to continue that on Sunday and make Russell Wilson suffer at the hands of Brian Flores’ defense.
Vikings 23, Broncos 16
Columnist Judd Zulgad
Record: 5-5
The Vikings have won five consecutive games and have turned around a season that started with a 1-4 record. The Broncos have won three in a row to improve to 4-5 but are a minus-52 in point differential. The Vikings (6-4) are plus-24. The Vikings also have been a better road team (4-1) this season and there’s no reason to think that won’t continue. Brian Flores’ defense, which has become the backbone of this club, promises to throw a few new looks at Broncos quarterback Russell Wilson. That should be enough to get the Vikings’ win streak to six.
Vikings 31, Broncos 27
Columnist Saivion Mixson
Record: 6-4
After week five, this game would have been a good use of the NFL’s schedule flexing policy, displaying a much more deserving game in the Sunday Night Football slot. Both of these teams were 1-4 and floundering. Fast forward five weeks later and these two teams hold the longest active winning streaks in the NFL.
Russell Wilson took a time machine back to the early 2010s and is playing, by far, his best football as a Bronco. Josh Dobbs and this Vikings offense are playing some of the best football in the NFL right now, all without the most dominant non-quarterback in the league. With how both offenses are playing, this has all the makings for a fun ending to Sunday’s action. At the end of the day, Minnesota’s ability in the run game will give Denver’s defense too many problems, opening the offense enough to win another one-score game.
Vikings 30, Broncos 23
Columnist Chris Spooner
Record: 5-1
For fans who don’t tune into the Broncos often, their lasting impression of this team is the 70-20 drubbing they took at the hands of the Miami Dolphins back in September. A loss like that sticks in your mind, but the Broncos team that squares off against the Vikings this Sunday night is a far different team than they were in September. The Vikings are a far different team than they were in September, too.
This game is likely going to be a defensive battle. You may not know it from the aforementioned game, but the Broncos’ defense has become quite solid in the wake of the Dolphins game. Their offense still struggles, but the defense keeps them hanging around.
Conversely, the Minnesota defense can get after the quarterback and bring pressure like few others have this season. It’s going to be a chess match between Vance Joseph and Brian Flores. The winner of that battle is likely going to be the winner of this game. I like the aggressiveness and diversity of the Flores’ defense to get the win here.
Vikings 24, Broncos 17
Broncos Wire managing editor Jon Heath
The Vikings are a good team and Josh Dobbs is a great story, but he has five interceptions and 11 fumbles in 10 games this year and the Broncos’ defense forced nine turnovers in their last two games against Josh Allen and Patrick Mahomes. Going up against a secondary that includes Surtain and safety Justin Simmons, Dobbs might fall back to earth a little bit this week. That’s not to say it’s an easy matchup for Denver. This game feels like a toss-up, but I’ll give the Broncos the edge since they’re playing at home.
Broncos 26, Vikings 23
