The Vikings (7-3) will head back home to U.S. Bank Stadium to take on the Denver Broncos following a huge victory over the Dallas Cowboys on the road last week on national television.
The Broncos (3-6) are coming off their bye week that followed a 24-19 win over the Cleveland Browns in Week 9.
Let's see who the experts are picking to win the game:
Vikings 24, Lions 16 — Gregg Rosenthal, NFL.com
In a dark Broncos season, there have been notable rays of sunshine. Courtland Sutton made the leap into a true No. 1 receiver, the type of player who can make an untested first-time starter like quarterback Brandon Allen look a lot better. Phillip Lindsay has backed up his Pro Bowl rookie campaign despite getting fewer touches. Safety Justin Simmons should be a Pro Bowler, typical of a Vic Fangio defense that found its footing after a slow start. The Broncos are your stereotypical stretch-run tough out, a spoiler that will require opponents to not beat themselves. Congratulations for making it to the end of my long way of saying this game could get more complicated than expected for the Vikings.
Vikings 27, Broncos 13 — Pete Prisco, CBS Sports
_The Vikings are back home after an impressive road victory against the Cowboys. They will face Brandon Allen at quarterback for the Broncos in this one. That will be a challenge for Denver, one they won't be able to overcome. The Vikings will win it. _
Vikings 33, Broncos 10 — Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News
We picked on the Vikings as mild underdogs at Dallas in Week 10, and they decided to throw that in our face by holding off the Cowboys to get a big win. So now we're making up for that disrespect by expecting them to dominate at home against the Broncos. Bad opponent at home in an early afternoon game? That's easy pickings for Kirk Cousins.
Vikings 28, Broncos 10 — Michael David Smith, Pro Football Talk
Brandon Allen was better than expected in his first NFL start, but a hostile environment in Minnesota could make this an ugly game for him.
Vikings 30, Broncos 17 — Mike Florio, Pro Football Talk
The Vikings can enter their 2019 bye with as many wins as they had in all of 2018.
Vikings 28, Broncos 13 — Staff, Bleacher Report
The Minnesota Vikings have played four teams this season that currently have fewer than four wins. In those four games, they're 4-0 with an average margin of victory of 14 points. They're also 4-0 at home with an average margin of victory of 16 points.
_We can argue over whether they've gotten over the hump on the road, in prime time and against high-quality opponents, but the Vikes usually kill it at home against low-quality teams on Sunday afternoons. _
_With that in mind, our analysts are unanimously willing to lay 10.5 points with Minnesota hosting the Denver Broncos on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, even with Denver coming off a win over the Cleveland Browns and then a bye. _
"Brandon Allen played well in his first start, and he and the Broncos had two weeks to prepare for Minnesota," Brent Sobleski admitted. "The Vikings defense is far better than the Browns version, though. Minnesota ranks top-five in scoring defense and plays a far more disciplined brand of football. Don't expect the Vikings defensive ends to allow Allen to work the edges of the pocket and make easy reads and throws. They'll attack the young quarterback in only his second start."
_Allen completed just 12 passes at home against Cleveland, and now he's facing a talented and opportunistic defense in a hostile environment. Look for him to have problems, while a decent but inconsistent Denver D likely won't be able to shut down an offense that features the league's third-highest-rated passer and leading rusher. _
Win Percentage: 78.2%, Average Score: Vikings 26.7, Broncos 15.6 — FOX Sports
FiveThirtyEight's 2019 NFL forecast uses an Elo-based model to calculate each team's chances of advancing to the playoffs and winning Super Bowl LIV. Playoff probabilities are based on 20,000 simulations of the season and will update after each game.
