BEST LINE: Pinnacle +3 +106

Posted Friday at 12:40 PM EST

The Vikings finished with a 5-10-1 record last year, but had they not blown leads in the final minute of five games, they would have finished 10-6. They have a new coaching staff now and a new quarterback, but the outlook stays the same. They allowed journeyman Kyle Orton to throw for 105 yards on an 80-yard drive, including a pair of key passes to Sammy Watkins – who scored the game-winning touchdown with one second left on the clock. The more things change in Minnesota, the more they stay the same and our original prognostication on Teddy Bridgewater was way off. Dude is not NFL ready; not even close. Bridgewater holds the ball far too long, a common mistake among rookie QB’s and when he does get rid of it he misses his targets by five yards. The Vikes rank #29 in overall offense and are last in passing offense.

Take away the first quarter and the Bucs are actually a decent club. They have been outscored in the first quarter by a remarkable count of 72-17 but it’s pretty difficult to envision the pitiful Vikings putting up a crooked number in the first. Furthermore, the Bucs are coming off another embarrassing performance two weeks in Baltimore, where they were walloped 48-17. The last time they were walloped in Atlanta (56-14), Tampa Bay responded with a win in Pittsburgh the next time out as an 8-point underdog. Now they’ve had two weeks to prepare and that’s a long time to prepare with that latest loss hanging over their heads. Mike Glennon is getting better. He's not only thrown for two scores in each of the last three games, but twice he topped 300 yards in the process while only throwing one interception per week. More impressive still - he threw for 302 yards in a road game in Pittsburgh and later 314 yards at home against the Ravens defense. Minnesota is playing its third road game in four weeks here and that’s difficult for even the best of teams. Now we’re getting the better all-around team at home, coming off a bye and a horrible loss. Getting them at this price is a great bargain.