The Minnesota Vikings welcome in the Tampa Bay Buccaneers tonight in NFL Preseason action. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m. start time and it will be televised live on the NFL Network. Currently the odds for the game have the Vikings favored by about a field goal to pick up the win.
Minnesota will have a big of a leg up in this game, only because they played in the Hall of Fame game last weekend. While that might not seem like a big deal because it's still the preseason, having an extra game certainly has to help Minnesota in a number of spots. Teddy Bridgewater looked great in his action against the Steelers, how much he plays tonight remains to be seen.
Tampa Bay QB Jameis Winston should expect to see a number of snaps tonight. Much like Marcus Mariota on Friday night, the rookie quarterback needs to get in on the action and see what it's like at full-game speed. Playing a full quarter for Winston can only help tonight. Mariota turned it over twice in last night's game, but the growth he will have from that will only make him better.
Winston can certainly help from a solid running game. Doug Martin has been banged up each of the last two seasons, but his rookie year saw him run for nearly 1,500 yards and 11 touchdowns. Winston has one of the best young talents at wide receiver as well with Mike Evans, who had a great rookie campaign last year. Evans caught 12 touchdown passes and better than 1,000 receiving yards, he'll be a great target for Winston as the youth movement for the Buccaneers gets underway tonight.
Adrian Peterson might see the field tonight. He went through warmups and dressed on the sidelines for the Hall of Fame game, but never took a snap. He might see a series or two tonight.
With Minnesota having already played, the conditioning factor and knowing what to expect in this game gets the job done.
Free Pick: Vikings
Oakland Raiders: 2015 NFL Free Picks & Betting Odds
Vegas betting expert Steve Fezzik doesn’t expect the bad situation in Oakland to get much better this season. This AFC West team may have some improvements in terms of personnel, but Jack Del Rio is the latest in a carousel of ever-changing mediocre coaches, and Fezzik doesn’t expect he is the guy to turn this team around. He also thinks people are overstating Derek Carr’s abilities at quarterback, as he may do well in the fourth quarter, but his numbers are padded with garbage time performance.
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