Denver Broncos vs Minnesota Vikings odds, picks, line and spread - August 14 | NFL preseason 2021
After a week of joint practices, the Denver Broncos and the Minnesota Vikings will open up their preseason facing each other on Saturday.
Both teams are under pressure to return to the playoffs following a disappointing 2020 season, and have important questions to answer in order to play meaningful football in January. Saturday's game will help answer a lot of those questions.
For the Broncos, the most important question is obviously who's going to start Week 1 under center. Teddy Bridgewater and Drew Lock will both get a start over the preseason to help Vic Fangio determine who starts at QB, and it looks like the battle will go down to the wire.
On the Vikings' side, this game will be the first live test for the new defense molded by Mike Zimmer after such a disappointing 2020 season where he had "the worst defense he has ever seen." Will the new additions make a splash right from the off or will it take a few weeks for this side of the ball to reach its best?
Denver Broncos at Minnesota Vikings: Betting odds
The Denver Broncos will enter their first preseason game of the 2021 season as -2.5 favorites over the Minnesota Vikings.
The over/under for this game is 34.5 points.
Denver Broncos at Minnesota Vikings: Picks
While the Vikings have their quarterback situation resolved (or, at least, in part), the Broncos are yet to determine who's going to be the team's leader, so Saturday's game will be much more important for them.
With Drew Lock and Teddy Bridgewater giving everything they've got against a slew of second-team players, you can expect the Broncos to win this game fairly easily.
The Vikings will see this game as an opportunity to evaluate their new defense and have a first look at some of the roster bubbles, but don't expect Kirk Cousins or the first-team offense to stay on the field for long.
Denver Broncos at Minnesota Vikings: Money line
Denver Broncos (-145)
Minnesota Vikings (+125)
Denver Broncos at Minnesota Vikings: Spread
The Broncos should cover this one because they'll take this game more seriously than the Vikings. Vic Fangio is under a lot of pressure to reach the playoffs this year and, for that reason, he can't make another mistake regarding the quarterback situation.
This will be a low-scoring game where the Broncos will cover the spread. If you want to take another bet, take the under 34.5 too.