Minnesota Vikings Vs. Cleveland Browns: Vikes Look To Start Year Off Hot

The NFL has already started as of Thursday, September 10th. The plethora of games start this Sunday with the Vikings against the Cleveland Browns at 1:00 pm ET.

Minnesota starts off against one of the worst teams in the league on paper, the Cleveland Browns.

The Browns finished a disappointing 2008 season with a record of 4-12.

However, the Minnesota Vikings finished with a 10-6 record that got them into the playoffs where they suffered a first week exit.

This year, Minnesota looks to improve from last season with a brand new team.

As we all should know, the Vikings signed Brett Favre to a 2-year deal for 25 million dollars total.

Vikings had on-going negotiations with Brett Favre for several months after he retired for the second time.

To shorten that story up, Brett decided to come back to the NFL after Minnesota played their first pre-season game.

Many project this game to be an easy win for the Vikings.

As it always is in the NFL, you can't count out any team on any given Sunday.

Injury Report

Cleveland:

TE- Steve Heiden, Knee, Probable
LB- Alex Hall, Shoulder, Probable
CB- Eric Wright, Knee, Questionable
DT- Shaun Rogers, Foot, Questionable
RB- Jerome Harrison, Knee, Questionable
LB- David Bowens, Knee, Questionable
RB- Cedric Peerman, Thigh, Doubtful
G- Rex Hadnot, Knee, Out

Minnesota:

TE- Jim Kleinsasser, Hand, Probable
WR- Bernard Berrian, Hamstring, Questionable
LB- Erin Henderson, Calf, Out

Game Predictions

Cleveland:
QB Brady Quinn- 21-39, 219 yards, 1 TD, 2 Int
RB Jamal Lewis- 20 rushes, 64 yards, 0 TD
WR Braylon Edwards- 6 rec, 77 yards
DE Corey Williams- 4 tackles, 1 sack
ILB D'Qwell Jackson- 12 tackles

Minnesota:
QB Brett Favre- 23-35, 258 yards, 2 TD, 1 Int
RB Adrian Peterson- 29 rushes, 176 yards, 2 TD
WR Percy Harvin- 8 rec, 91 yards, 1 TD
DE Jared Allen- 5 tackles, 2 sacks
CB Cedric Griffin- 7 tackles, 1 Int

Final score: 31-16

Vikings will start out hot and will not cool down.

I expect a big game from Adrian Peterson on Sunday. The Browns have a very poor run defense. They will not be able to match up against the running game of Minnesota.

The best chance for Cleveland to win is on special teams with Josh Cribbs returning kicks and punts.

Expect it to be a long day for the Browns defense.