Saturday August 23, 2014, 8 PM ET
Minnesota Vikings +3.5 (2-0) @ Kansas City Chiefs (1-1) O/U 45 pts
I recommend a play on the Minnesota Vikings plus the points (+3.5) in Week 3 of the NFL Preseason on Saturday night. I think we have a good spot here to back the road dog for a few key reasons.
Both QB's, Matt Cassel and rookie Teddy Bridgewater, for the Vikings have played pretty well this preseason and I look for that to continue. They truly have a competition for the starting position going so I expect Coach Zimmer to be looking for one of the QB's to really establish himself in this game, which means throwing the rock all over the yard no matter the time or score of the game, similar to what we saw in the Eagles/Steelers game last night. I expect the 1's for the Vikes to get a lot of burn this game and play through the 3rd quarter and expect both QB's to be on top of their game vs a tough but overrated KC defense.
On the other side I do not expect Andy Reid to give much credence to this game other than to evaluate his lesser known guys. KC played their starters a lot in their last game vs the Panthers which was planned, and I expect Reid to now evaluate the rest of his roster tonight while the 1's kind of take a back seat. Jamal Charles and Dwayne Bowe both will not play and the offensive line play for the Chiefs, especially last year's #1 overall pick Eric Fisher, has been abysmal so far so I do not expect Alex Smith to be in there too long, or to have much success. The Chiefs need to get their O-line issues worked out before they can think about running an efficient offense.
The Vikings front 7 will be looking to get after the quarterback under defensive minded Mike Zimmer. I expect Shariff Floyd to have a big year as he is being looked at Zimmer's new Geno Atkins. This is not a good combo for whoever is behind center for the Chiefs. Yes, AP is not playing, but they will have Kyle Rudolph catching passes and RB Matt Asiata has been solid. Also a player to watch out for is RB Jerrick McKinnon. I expect him to get some touches and be looking to make some plays. This kid is explosive and will be looking to take advantage of the opportunity he gets this preseason. McKinnon running against the Chiefs 2's and 3's is a mismatch and I feel something the Vikings will take advantage of in this game.
The last point I like in the Vikings favor is that they have a rookie head coach going against a veteran who has been in the league forever. In my opinion, the rookie coach may put more emphasis on actually winning the game than the veteran does. I think Zimmer is one of those guys. He is intense and this intensity will carry over into this game through his team. I expect the Vikings to play physical and beat up on the struggling Chiefs and come away with the outright victory, which is why I am recommending the Minnesota Vikings plus the points (+3.5) on Saturday night my NFL Preseason Week 3 Game of the Week.
Vikings 26 Chiefs 17