NFL Week 15 Primer: Cincinnati Bengals (5-8) vs Minnesota Vikings (10-3) stats and facts

The Bengals can still do one thing this season, and that is ruin the year for other teams. They have a good chance of doing that this week when they visit the Vikings.

Right now, the Vikings are 10-3 and just barely in front of the Rams and Saints, who are both 9-4. It is safe to say that every game remaining on the Vikings’ schedule is important.

The Bengals may have dropped the ball the last two weeks, but it could do a lot for the morale of this team to beat one of the best teams in the opposing conferences. A lot of that may depend on whether the Bengals get healthy after missing a ton of starters last week, and it showed as the Bengals struggled offensively and defensively against one of the worst teams in the NFL.

Everything you need to know for when the Bengals visit the Vikings:

Game: Cincinnati Bengals (5-8) at Minnesota Vikings (10-3)

Date/Time: Sunday, December 17th, 2017 1:00 p.m. EST

Location: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Series Leader: The series is tied 6-6

Streak: Bengals have wone two of the last three games

Coaches vs Opponent: Marvin Lewis (2-1), Mike Zimmer (0-0)

TV Broadcast: CBS broadcast with Ian Eagle (play-by-play), Dan Fouts (analyst) and Evan Washburn (sideline reporter). The game will air in the Bengals home market on WKRC-TV (Channel 12) in Cincinnati, WHIO-TV (Channel 7) in Dayton and on WKYT-TV (Channel 27) in Lexington, Ky.

Radio Broadcast: Coverage on the Bengals Radio Network, led by a “triple-cast” on Cincinnati flagship stations WLW-AM (700), WCKY-AM (1530; all sports) and WEBN-FM (102.7). Broadcasters are Dan Hoard (play-by-play) and Dave Lapham (analyst). The game will also be aired to a national audience on affiliates of Sports USA. Broadcasters are Josh Appel (play-by-play) and Hank Bauer (analyst).

Vikings’ SB Nation Website: Daily Norseman

Weather: Inside a dome; Mostly cloudy outside [NFL Weather]

Odds: The Bengals open as 10-point underdogs [Vegas Insider]

Uniforms: White jersey with white pants; the Bengals are 19-28 in that combination since 2004.

Cincinnati Bengals

• Andy Dalton has 10 touchdown passes and one interception for a 96.5 passer rating in the past five games. In his only career meeting with the Vikings, Dalton completed 27 of 38 passes (71.1 pct.) for 363 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions for a 136.2 rating. He has over a 120 passer rating in two of the past three against the NFC.
• Joe Mixon has a rushing touchdown in three of his past five games. He ranks fifth among rookies with 784 scrimmage yards. Giovani Bernard had 130 scrimmage yards (68 receiving and 62 rushing) in Week 14. He has 226 scrimmage yards (113 per game) in the past two games. He has a touchdown in two of the past four against the NFC.
• A.J. Green had 97 receiving yards and two touchdowns in his last meeting with the Vikings. He has four touchdowns in the past five games. In the past four vs the NFC, he has 31 catches (7.8 per game) for 364 yards (91 per game) and two touchdowns. Green is the only player in NFL history with over 950 receiving yards in each of his first seven seasons. Brandon LaFell had a touchdown catch in Week 14. He had 107 receiving yards, including a 79-yard touchdown, in 10/13/13 meeting (with Carolina). He has a touchdown in two of the past three vs the NFC. Tyler Kroft has four receiving touchdowns in the past five games on the road.
• Carlos Dunlap has 3.5 sacks in the past four games. He has 1.5 sacks and five passes defended in the past three against the NFC. Since entering league in 2010, Geno Atkins has 59 sacks, most among NFL defensive tackles. Michael Johnson had two sacks last week. He has three sacks in the past two vs the NFC. Vincent Rey had a sack, forced fumble and interception for a touchdown in his only career meeting with the Vikings. Vontaze Burfict had two sacks in the last game against Minnesota. He aims for the fifth in a row against the NFC with over 10 tackles. George Iloka had and interception in the last meeting. Rookie Jordan Evans had a career-high 10 tackles last week.

Minnesota Vikings

• Case Keenum has 1,661 pass yards (276.8 per game) with 13touchdowns and five interceptions for a 102.6 passer rating in his past six games. He has over a 100 passer rating in four of the past five games. He aims for his fourth in a row with over two touchdown passes.
• Latavius Murray has 208 rushing yards (104 per game) and three touchdowns in the past two games at home. He has five rushing touchdowns in his past seven games. Jerick McKinnon has two touchdowns (one rushing and one receiving) in the past three at home.
• Adam Thielen ties for NFC lead with a career-high 1,161 receiving yards. He has 632 receiving yards (105.3 per game) and four touchdowns in his past six games. Stefon Diggs has 396 receiving yards (99 per game) and four touchdowns in his past four at home. Kyle Rudolph has four touchdown catches in his past three games. He aims for his fourth in a row with a touchdown. He has 19 touchdown catches since 2015, tied for second most among tight ends.
• Everson Griffen ranks third in the NFL with a career-high 13 sacks. He had 1.5 sacks in his last game vs Cincinnati. He has seven sacks and a forced fumble in his past five vs the AFC. Griffen aims for his fourth in a row against the AFC with a sack. Danielle Hunter has four sacks in his past four at home. He aims for his third in a row at home with a sack. Linval Joseph led the team with 10 tackles and a sack in Week 14. Andrew Sendejo had an interception last week. He has 21 tackles (7 per game)and interception in his past three at home. Harrison Smith has 1.5 sacks,two interceptions and five passes defended in his past five games at home. Since 2014, he leads NFL safeties with eight sacks.