Poor Teddy Bridgewater. The former Louisville star seemed all set to take a huge step forward with the Minnesota Vikings last season. Optimism was running high in the Twin Cities, but in their last preseason practice, Bridgewater tore his ACL and dislocated his knee in a non-contact drill. His season was lost and the Vikes were left to scramble, sending a first-round pick to Philadelphia in order to get Sam Bradford. Bradford made this team competitive, but failed to lead them to a winning record. Bridgewater is still recovering from the injury and may not be able to play this preseason either. That means Bradford, Case Keenum, and Taylor Heinicke will be the available quarterbacks when Minnesota faces the Buffalo Bills on Thursday night.
This matchup in Week 1 of the preseason will take place on Thursday, August 10, 2017, at 7 p.m. ET at Ralph Wilson Stadium.
Week 1 NFL Preseason Opening Odds at BookMaker.eu
Minnesota Vikings PK
Buffalo Bills PK
Over/Under 37
Odds Analysis
No coach cares more about the preseason than Mike Zimmer. Zimmer has a fantastic 12-1 preseason record since taking over at the start of the 2014 campaign and his teams are always competitive. The Vikings squeaked out two of their wins last preseason though, so it’s not like they are going all out.
The Buffalo Bills had a lot of people scratching their heads after they signed Sean McDermott to be their new head coach. McDermott has been a defensive assistant in the NFL for 18 seasons, but only has experience with two teams, Philadelphia and Carolina.
Players to Watch
Vikings fans are excited to get their first real looks at the running backs that are going to replace the great Adrian Peterson. Minnesota signed Oakland’s starting running back from last season, Latavius Murray, in free agency and he is the nominal starter at this point.
Murray was alright during his time in the Bay Area, but wasn’t the game-breaker that many were hoping for. He could run for three or four yards per carry, but not much else and the Raiders weren’t that sorry to see him leave.
Even though Minnesota could have stopped there, the Vikings made a real investment in the position when they drafted Dalvin Cook in the second-round.
Many Florida State fans consider Cook to be the greatest running back to ever suit up in Tallahassee. That’s high praise from fans of a school that has seen so many talents come through its doors, but Cook is something special. He is a slasher with the ability to hit a hole quickly and then explode to daylight and isn’t bad out of the backfield as a receiver either.
Both should see plenty of action against Buffalo.
Matchup to Watch
The battle for the No. 2 wide receiver spot in Buffalo is in full gear now. Although he just signed with the team on Monday, veteran Anquan Boldin was instantly placed as the No. 2 wide receiver on the Bills behind Sammy Watkins.
It’s hard not to see the move as a motivational ploy to try to see one of the names on the roster step up and try to wrest the job away from Boldin. Andre Holmes, Philly Brown, and Rod Streater are all listed behind Boldin and the three will use the game against Minnesota to try to supplant him.
Rookie Zay Jones should really benefit from Boldin’s presence. The second-round pick from East Carolina is a possession receiver and can learn a lot from Boldin.
Free ATS Pick
This just feels like one of those games that ends as a clunky 17-14 affair. Neither team has a real quarterback controversy and although there are some position battles that need to play out, it shouldn’t have a huge effect on the game. Take the Bills as the home team at a PK ‘Em.
Week 1 NFL Preseason Odds: Bills 17, Vikings 14
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