This may be the top game of the week, as the Cincinnati Bengals (9-3) are on the road facing off against Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings (10-2).  The Bengals have won five of their last six, but they have not been playing the best football.  Most of their opponents have been pretty weak lately, and they have not been winning by large margins.  They lost to Oakland a few weeks ago and beat the Browns and Lions by 10 or less points.  The Bengals seem to play down to their opponents a little bit, so hopefully they will play up to their opponent this time.  Carson Palmer needs to limit his interceptions, but he cannot shy away from going for the big play.  Chad Ochocinco (or should I say Hachi Go) has been having a big year and has been making a lot of those big plays that will be needed in this one.  Cedric Benson should be the first option though, as the running back looked great in his return from a hip injury and Palmer is going to need some relief from the Vikings aggressive pass rush.

The Bengals defense is going up against a very well rounded offense.  They have a great quarterback in Brett Favre and a great running back in Adrian Peterson.  The Bengals defense has been great, holding teams to under 300 yards of total offense on average, but if they can get Brett Favre  to force the issue they can get some interceptions like the Cardinals did against them.  Also, as good as Adrian Peterson is, he leads running backs in fumbles, so the Bengals may have some turnover opportunities.  This should be a very exciting and close game, but the Vikings are such a strong team at home that I have to go with them.

FINAL SCORE PREDICTION:  Cincinnati Bengals 23, Minnesota Vikings 30