Following their worst loss in a home opener since 2014, the Vikings (1-1) will try to get a win over the Cincinnati Bengals (2-0) at U.S. Bank Stadium before heading overseas for two weeks. Quarterback J.J. McCarthy and running back Aaron Jones are out with injuries, but the Vikings will have left tackle Christian Darrisaw, safety Harrison Smith and outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel back against the Bengals. The Vikings will turn the offense over to Carson Wentz, who signed with the team less than a month ago. He will face a fellow backup QB in Jake Browning, a former Viking.
Kickoff: noon Sunday
TV: CBS
Radio: KFAN-FM 100.3; SiriusXM 229, 820 (Vikings), 384, 806 (Bengals)
Line: Vikings by 3
Ben Goessling’s preview and prediction
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Dalton Vue attempts to throw a ball into a target before his father Xai Vue, right, during festivities before the Vikings take on the Bengals at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday. (Elizabeth Flores/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Follow live updates from U.S. Bank Stadium below:
Darrisaw will get plenty of help
11:00 a.m. – With Brake Brandel in line to back up Christian Darrisaw at left tackle today, Henry Byrd — who was elevated from the practice squad on Saturday — is the likely backup at center for Michael Jurgens today. Expect the Vikings to provide plenty of help for Darrisaw as he faces Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson in his first game of the season. And don’t be surprised if Brandel replaces Darrisaw at some point during the game; if the left tackle comes out, the Vikings plan to stick with Brandel the rest of the way.
– Ben Goessling
Vikings-Bengals inactives
10:40 a.m. – Three Vikings starters — left tackle Christian Darrisaw, safety Harrison Smith and outside linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel — are officially active and will play Sunday against the Bengals.
Darrisaw and Smith will make their season debuts at U.S. Bank Stadium, but both could be on snap counts as they ease their way back. Offensive lineman Blake Brandel lined up at tackle at the start of Friday’s practice and could rotate with Darrisaw, who has said he’s still trying to regain comfort in his surgically-repaired left knee. Brandel started three games at left tackle for Darrisaw in 2022.
Darrisaw has said he intends to play with a bulky knee brace that he’s worn throughout most practices. He has not played since tearing two ligaments, the ACL and MCL, in his left knee about 11 months ago.
Smith, 36, returns for the first time despite practicing only on a limited basis since his Sept. 6 return to the field. He’s been dealing with a personal health matter that has affected him since at least early August, when he left training camp. Safety Theo Jackson has started in Smith’s place and could maintain a role vs. the Bengals.
Bengals’ inactives: DE Shemar Stewart (ankle), CB Cam Taylor-Britt (hamstring), WR Jermaine Burton, TE Tanner Hudson and DT McKinnley Jackson
– Andrew Krammer
Six starts for six teams in six years
10:00 a.m. – Quarterback Carson Wentz will become the first passer in NFL history to start for six different teams across six consecutive seasons when he’s under center for the Vikings today.
“It sounds crazy when you say that,” Wentz said Wednesday. “It’s definitely given me a different perspective going from being a starter, being traded, cut, all the things and being a backup the last two years behind some future Hall of Fame quarterbacks. … Also just the perspective of not taking this for granted. You never know when your next chance will be in this league.”
Quarterback Carson Wentz (11) warms up before his first start for the Vikings. (Carlos Gonzalez/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
Wentz, the No. 2 pick by the Eagles, was 11-2 and MVP contender in the 2017 season when he tore the ACL in his left knee. The Eagles went on to win the Super Bowl at U.S. Bank Stadium. He was traded to the Colts after the 2020 season.
Here are Wentz’s records as a starter the past five seasons.