There are plenty of storylines for this one as Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer begins his eighth season at the helm in Minnesota.
One of them, of course, involves Zimmer, who will coach his first regular-season game in Cincinnati in the role he’s held since 2014.
Zimmer was the Bengals defensive coordinator from 2008-13 before landing the Vikings job. He led Cincinnati’s defense to top-10 finishes in points allowed in four of those six seasons, helping the Bengals make four playoff appearances in that span.
Zimmer has only faced Cincinnati once in his career, a 34-7 home win in 2017 that clinched an NFC North title for the Vikings. He is 64-47-1 in seven regular seasons in Purple with three playoff appearances and a pair of NFC North titles.
The Week 1 matchup also features former Vikings left tackle Riley Reiff, who was released by Minnesota in a salary-cap move this offseason.
Reiff has transitioned to right tackle, where he’ll likely be greeted by a motivated Danielle Hunter after the Pro-Bowl defensive end missed the entire 2020 season with a neck injury.
And Reiff will be tasked with protecting Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow, the 2020 No. 1 overall pick who missed the Bengals final six games with a torn ACL as a rookie. Burrow threw for 2,688 yards with 13 touchdowns and five interceptions before his injury, and was sacked 32 times.
