Two of the hottest teams in the NFL meet Sunday night when the Denver Broncos host the Minnesota Vikings. Denver is on a three-game winning streak, while the Vikings have won five straight. The Broncos are favored at home despite a losing record and coming off a short week.
Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday at Empower Field. The game will be televised on NBC.
Joshua Dobbs’ magical season continues; he’s yet to play two complete games for the Vikings but has proven to be a more than suitable fill-in at quarterback. Kirk Cousins led the Vikings to the NFL’s top passing offense before going down with an injury. Dobbs, who was traded to Minnesota at the trade deadline and is on his third team this season, has a completion percentage over 70 percent and has yet to turn the ball over. He’s done all that without starting wide receiver Justin Jefferson, who reportedly is close to a return, maybe as early as this week.
Despite dealing with multiple devastating injuries, Minnesota is in the playoff hunt and in the thick of the NFC North division race. Kirk Cousins and Cam Akers are out for the year with Achilles’ injuries. Jefferson has missed the last five games due to a hamstring injury. Alexander Mattison left Week 10 against the Saints with a concussion, but is expected to play, according to Adam Schefter. Starting linebacker Jordan Hicks will miss at least this week due to emergency surgery after developing compartment syndrome during the Saints game.
The Broncos defeated the Buffalo Bills Monday Night in Buffalo, kicking a game-winning field goal as time expired.
The Broncos offense has been a mixed bag. Denver has the fourth fewest passing yards (1,161) but fifth-most passing touchdowns (18). They average a respectable 117.3 rushing yards per game but have just one rushing touchdown. Russell Wilson has yet to throw for more than 200 yards since Week 4 but has a touchdown to interception ratio of 9-2 over that same span. They’re averaging just over 22 points a game during their winning streak.
All odds from BetMGM. Looking for NFL tickets? Buy them here.
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(Photo of Joshua Dobbs: Stephen Maturen / Getty Images)
