Saturday's preseason game between the Minnesota Vikings and Denver Broncos at U.S. Bank Stadium will mark the 14th time the teams have met in a preseason game. Kickoff is at 3 p.m.
The Vikings lead the preseason series vs. the Broncos 8-5.
The first meeting between the teams was in 1967, as was profiled earlier this week:
Minnesota leads the regular-season series 8-7.
It's the first time the Vikings are hosting Denver in the preseason since beating the Broncos 31-24 at the Metrodome on Sept. 2, 2010.
Minnesota owns five straight preseason wins over the Broncos, dating back to a 34-3 win over Denver on Aug. 26, 1983.
That was the final year of Bud Grant's first run as Vikings coach. He returned in 1985 after the short-lived Les Steckel era.
Denver has made one trip to U.S. Bank Stadium for a regular-season game, with the Vikings winning 27-23 on Nov. 17, 2019.
It will be the first time the Vikings have played in front of fans in their home stadium since Dec. 29, 2019.
"It's going to be great," said Vikings coach Mike Zimmer. "We love to get the fans in there. I know it's a preseason game, but I hope it's full. I hope they're loud, that they have a great time and bring their buddies."
Zimmer says that there are pros and cons to cutting the final preseason game as the league moved to a 17-game regular season.
"I do know that a lot of times in the fourth preseason game, we had some 'bubble' guys who made the team because of how they performed in that game," he explained earlier this week, placing further emphasis on the practice time with Denver.
In the past, the third preseason game usually featured starters playing into the second half before most of them rested the next week.
Zimmer wouldn't reveal his plans for Saturday, but it's expected that starters won't see much playing time.
Jake Browning has taken the majority of quarterback reps in practice for the Vikings with Kirk Cousins and Nate Stanley out for contact tracing and Kellen Mond testing positive. Mond will not play vs. Denver.
Cousins likely won't see much playing time, meaning Browning will take the most snaps Saturday, although recent pickup Danny Etling may see some playing time.
Zimmer did say that first-round pick tackle Christian Darrisaw will "probably be out" on Saturday while continuing to rehab a nagging injury.
Earlier this week, the Vikings and Broncos held joint practices in Eagan.
Popular former Vikings' QB Teddy Bridgewater is in his first season with the Broncos after spending last season in Carolina, where he started in 15 games for the Panthers.
Drew Lock will start at quarterback for Denver Saturday, although Bridgewater will also likely see some time under center. Broncos' coach Vic Fangio says how playing time will be divided will depend more on how the game is going than a time or a quarter.
The Vikings have done well in preseason games under Zimmer, compiling a 20-5 record, including unbeaten 4-0 records in 2014 and 2016. They were 4-1 in 2015, 3-1 in both 2018 and 2019 and 2-2 in 2017. Last year's games were canceled due to Covid.
Saturday's game will be the first of just three preseason games. Teams had played four preseason games from 1978-2019.
Other preseason games for the Vikings are at home vs. Indianapolis next week and at Kansas City.
Minnesota opens the regular season with road games at Cincinnati and Arizona before the home opener vs. Seattle on Sept. 26.
Minnesota-Denver preseason meetings
Vikings lead series 8-5
08-18-1967: Denver Broncos 14, Minnesota Vikings 9
08-17-1968: Minnesota Vikings 39, Denver Broncos 16
08-09-1969: Minnesota Vikings 26, Denver Broncos 6
09-04-1971: Denver Broncos 14, Minnesota Vikings 7
08-10-1974: Denver Broncos 27, Minnesota Vikings 21
09-05-1976: Denver Broncos 30, Minnesota Vikings 17
08-28-1982: Denver Broncos 27, Minnesota Vikings 17
08-26-1983: Minnesota Vikings 34, Denver Broncos 3
08-30-1985: Minnesota Vikings 13, Denver Broncos 9
08-16-1986: Minnesota Vikings 29, Denver Broncos 27
09-01-1987: Minnesota Vikings 27, Denver Broncos 17
09-02-2010: Minnesota Vikings 31, Denver Broncos 24
08-11-2018: Minnesota Vikings 42, Denver Broncos 28