SUNDAY NIGHT FOOTBALL WEEK 11: MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT DENVER BRONCOS

BY ADAM GREENE

Listen, NFL. What good is it to have flex scheduling if you’re not going to use it on a garbage game like this? Yes, the Joshua Dobbs story is interesting for the Minnesota Vikings and certainly the Denver Broncos have turned their season around from a disastrous start but does anyone want to see Cris Collinsworth deliver a half-hearted slide into Mike Terico’s butt cheek on Sunday Night Football?

And, besides NFL, we already talked about this. No one wants to see the Broncos in Prime Time. It’s a recipe for an outright garbage fire of a game and has been for two straight seasons.

The Broncos and Vikings are, of course, connected by bad fortune. Until they were joined by the 1990s Buffalo Bills, they were the first teams to lose four consecutive Super Bowls. In fact, the Broncos, along with the New England Patriots, are the only teams in the league to have lost five Super Bowls in their history. Obviously, Denver and New England have hoisted a few Vince Lombardis over the last couple of decades. The Vikes and Bills are still looking for their first.

Minnesota leads the all-time series 8-7 thanks to winning their last matchup on Nov. 17, 2019. Kirk Cousins was 29 of 35 passing for 319 yards, three touchdowns and no picks in the victory. Stefon Diggs (now with the aforementioned Bills) caught five passes for 121 yards and a score.

In the loss, Brandon Allen (now with the San Francisco 49ers) was 17 of 39 passing for 240 yards, one touchdown and a pick. Courtland Sutton caught five passes for 113 yards.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS AT DENVER BRONCOS (-3.5, O/U: 46)

Location: Empower Field at Mile High, Denver, Colo.

Broadcast: NBC

Kickoff: Nov. 16, 8:15 p.m.

MINNESOTA VIKINGS (6-4)

The Josh Dobbs train kept chugging along for the Vikings last week as they cruised to a 27-19 win over the New Orleans Saints. Dobbs finished 23 of 34 passing for 268 yards, a touchdown and no interceptions. He rushed eight times for 44 yards, a score and was sacked once. Ty Chandler had 15 carries for 45 yards and a TD. TJ Hockenson caught 11 passes for 134 yards and a touchdown. The defense sacked Saints QBs three times and picked Jameis Winston off twice.

DENVER BRONCOS (4-5)

Denver picked up its second monster win in a row, defeating the Buffalo Bills in Orchard Park, 24-22, on a last season field goal, thanks to the Bills putting 12 men on the field in the missed attempt before. Rusell Wilson looked miserable while doing it, but still managed a 24 of 29 passing day for 193 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions in the win. He scrambled nine times for 30 yards and was sacked four times. Javonte Williams rushed 21 times for 79 yards. Courtland Sutton caught eight passes for 53 yards and a score. The defense forced two fumbles and picked off Josh Allen twice.

THE PICK

Both these teams are legitimately hot, but I’m as shocked as you are to see me make the pick I’m about to make. In spite of Denver’s recurrent Prime Time problems, I’m rolling with them at home. Broncos 24, Vikings 23

Last week

Straight up: 10-4

Against the spread: 10-4

Season

Straight up: 85-51

Against the spread: 75-61

Follow Adam Greene on Twitter @TheFirstMan.

Connect with us our socials on Twitter and Instagram for the latest sports news, viral moments, betting odds and the occasional memes.