The set-up: The Minnesota Vikings (11-5 in 2015) open the 2016 preseason slate at the Cincinnati Bengals (12- 4 in 2015) on Friday. Mike Zimmer has been Minnesota's head coach the last two years and in his preseason opener, will coach against 13 members of the Bengals coaching staff with whom he shared a tenure in Cincinnati. The Bengals story is becoming "etched in stone." Cincinnati has made the playoffs in seven of the last 11 years (all under head coach Marvin Lewis), only to lose their first postseason game each time (note: Cincinnati will enter 2016 on a five-year postseason run without a playoff win ).

The game: Here's a stat most will be familiar with. Zimmer opened his preseason career winning eight in a row (7-1 ATS), before losing the team's 2015 preseason finale to Tennessee, 24-17. Marvin Lewis of the Bengals owns a career 28-25 SU and 27-25-1 ATS record in the preseason, which hardly inspires confidence. As always in Week 1 of the preseason, neither team figures to play their regulars for too many plays.Something which may go a long way to deciding the winner in this contest is the injury to Minnesota's back-up QB, Taylor Heinecke. He was a rookie in 2015 and played in all five of the team's preseason games, contributing nicely. With Heinecke sidelined, rookie FA Joel Stave may be taking more snaps than Minnesota backers would like.

The pick: Zimmer's preseason record is nearly impeccable but we‘ve all heard the term, regression to the mean. Meanwhile, the Bengals just may want to open with a win, after yet another playoff ‘flop' last January. The Bengals are an 8* play.