Vikings vs. Bengals 2016 live stream: Game time, TV schedule and how to watch online

Minnesota Vikings coach Mike Zimmer makes his return to Cincinnati, preparing his team to take on the Bengals for their preseason opener Friday night. And he’s glad to be back.

“It brings back a lot of good memories. We had good run when I was here,” Zimmer said Wednesday. “A lot of great people in the administration. Mike Brown was always really good to me, obviously Marvin, a lot of players that I coached. It will be fun. It will be fun bringing my team in here and trying to compete with them.”

It was Zimmer’s time working as the Bengals’ defensive coordinator under Marvin Lewis that got the attention of the Vikings when they were looking to fill the vacancy left by firing Leslie Frazier.

The Vikings arrived in Cincinnati for a joint practice with the Bengals Wednesday, and it didn’t take long for things to get chippy. Bengals cornerback Adam Jones got into it with the Vikings’ Adam Thielen, and linebacker Vontaze Burfict got in the mix, too. Jones also exchanged words with Zimmer, his former coordinator.

These were minor altercations, though, and otherwise combined practice was calm for both teams, with the exception of some injuries that could impact which players take the field for each team on Friday.

Tight end Tyler Eifert is still recovering from a foot injury and is not playing for the Bengals on Friday. Defensive tackle Andrew Billings may be out with a knee injury, and offensive tackle Andrew Whitworth’s status is uncertain because of an undisclosed injury. Cornerback William Jackson III is doubtful with a torn pec. Marvin Lewis also announced that Burfict, who will serve a three-game suspension to start the season, will not play in any preseason games.

The Vikings actually left nine injured players behind in the Twin Cities when they headed to Cincinnati, including receiver Jarius Wright, cornerback Terence Newman and defensive lineman Sharrif Floyd.

In the combined practice, it was clear that the Vikings got the best of the Bengals. Cincinnati’s offense, particularly the passing attack, struggled against an aggressive Minnesota front seven. The Bengals’ offensive line, which has been solid over the past couple of seasons, gave up simulated sack after simulated sack. Having Whitworth, a quality tackle, sidelined didn’t help much.

The Bengals’ defense didn’t fare all that well against the Vikings’ offense in the combined practice, either. We can learn only so much from a team’s performance in a practice, of course. Coaches will call vanilla plays, wishing to avoid forfeiting any advantage. It’s not a good indication of how competitive a team will be during the season, because coaches will intentionally hold back.

Preseason games really don’t matter in the grand scheme, either, though teams’ performances do provide a useful gauge for assessing what needs to be improved upon before the season. It will be interesting to see if the Bengals look more competitive against the Vikings on Friday than they did during Wednesday’s joint practice.

When: 7:30 p.m. ET

Where: Paul Brown Stadium, Cincinnati, Ohio

TV: KMSP-9 (Minneapolis), WKRC-TV (Cincinnati)

Announcers: Paul Allen, Pete Bercich (Vikings); Brad Johansen, Anthony Munoz and Mike Valpredo (Bengals)

Online: NFL Game Pass