David John is siding with favourites Minnesota when they take on a winless Cleveland Browns at Twickenham.
Minnesota at Cleveland (1330 GMT, Twickenham, BBC Two)
Poor old Cleveland remain very much entrenched in the lower echelons of the NFL and having drawn a blank so far this season on their own continent, they have the chance to get off the mark 3,000 miles away in London.
Their prospects don’t immediately seem rosy either as they are 9.5-point underdogs against the Vikings as head coach Hue Jackson attempts to dig them out of a rut that has seen them win just one game since the start of the 2016 regular season.
The biggest criticism levelled at Cleveland for some years now has been a total inability to get the most from the annual Draft and problems continue with this season’s second-round pick Deshone Kizer, slated as the latest in a long line of potential franchise quarterbacks for the next decade.
A solid effort in the week one defeat to Pittsburgh promised plenty but a mixed bag since – surely expected from a rookie on a bad team – has already seen him benched three times with Jackson giving chances to Cody Kessler and Kevin Hogan.
Kizer was yanked again last week midway through an overtime loss at home to Tennessee following interceptions on back-to-back series but Jackson is happy enough to give him another chance – perhaps a change of country will bring about an improvement over 60 minutes.
While the Browns are right in the argument for another No.1 Draft pick in 2018, their opponents are ticking along quite nicely at 5-2 on top of the NFC North after three straight victories.
Their chance of reclaiming the division has increased significantly after Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers suffered a broken collarbone playing against them a couple of weeks ago and head coach Mike Zimmer has stressed the importance of not taking Sunday's rival lightly despite the obvious current gulf in class.
Minnesota have had issues of their own at quarterback with starter Sam Bradford battling an ongoing knee issue but the experienced Case Keenum has done very well in relief to keep things ticking over.
A healthy defense is among the very best in the league and the opportunity to tee-off on Kizer will make it very hard to find his feet as the defensive-minded Zimmer is one of the best around when it comes to confusing quarterbacks with multiple looks and heavily disguised coverages.
The International Series has delivered some very lopsided games this season with two shutouts and one losing side managing just seven points.
This shapes up like a fixture which could turn ugly if the Vikings get on top quickly and they are worth backing to cover quite a hefty start.
Prediction: Minnesota 24-10 Cleveland
Recommended bets: Sunday NFL
2pts Minnesota (-9.5) to beat Cleveland at 10/11
Click here for our transparent tipping record.
Posted at 1730 BST on 27/10/17.
Related links
