Vikings to Open 2021 Season With Week 1 Road Game Against Cincinnati Bengals

There are a bunch of interesting storylines here with old teammates facing each other.

The NFL announced its full slate of Week 1 games on Wednesday morning, and the Vikings got a pretty fun one. Minnesota will start on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals in a 12 p.m. central time kickoff on FOX.

It may not seem like it at first glance, but this should be an interesting game with a lot of notable storylines. Joe Burrow will make his return from ACL surgery last year and he'll be throwing to No. 5 overall pick and former college teammate Ja'Marr Chase. Justin Jefferson, another key member of that 2019 LSU team, will be on the other sideline looking to out-duel his good friends.

One other member of that LSU title team potentially playing in this game will be Thaddeus Moss, the son of one of the best players in Vikings history. However, Moss has work to do to make the Bengals' roster, much less see a prominent role Week 1.

The storylines go on and on. 

It'll be Mike Zimmer's second time facing his old team, this time with another ex-Bengals DC in Paul Guenther on his staff. Trae Waynes will be making his Cincy debut against his old team. Same with Riley Reiff, whose first task as a member of the Bengals will be lining up against Danielle Hunter like he did so many times in practice from 2017-19. Recent Vikings free agent signings Mackensie Alexander and Nick Vigil are former Bengals.

Minnesota will need to show up and play well to win this one against a team that has the potential to improve significantly in 2021.

The last time these teams met was at U.S. Bank Stadium in December 2017 for a blowout 34-7 win by the Vikings. The Vikings haven't won in Cincinnati since 1992, having lost on their last three trips there. They are 1-6 all-time in the city.

Here's the entire Week 1 slate:

WEEK 1 SCHEDULE:

DAL@TB (TNF - season opener)

Early Sunday:

JAX@HOU
PIT@BUF
NYJ@CAR
ARI@TEN
LAC@WSH
MIN@CIN
SF@DET
PHI@ATL
SEA@IND

Late window Sunday:

DEN@NYG
GB@NO
CLE@KC
MIA@NE

CHI@LAR (SNF)
BAL@LV (MNF)

— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) May 12, 2021

The full schedule release is tonight at 7 p.m. central, but look for certain games to be leaked and reported throughout the day.

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