Vikings scouting report vs. Bengals

Sunday: Noon at U.S. Bank Stadium (Ch. 4, 100.3-FM, 1130-AM)

• Bengals (5-8) allowed 27 unanswered points by the Bears in a convincing loss, 33-7, last Sunday in Cincinnati. The Bengals allowed 232 rushing yards to Chicago.

• Quarterback Andy Dalton has thrown for less than 155 yards in four of the past eight games. However, his interception against the Bears last week was his first in six weeks.

• Despite last week's blowout loss, the Bengals defense still only allows 20.8 points per game this season. The pass rush is led by fourth-round linebacker Carl Lawson, who leads all NFL rookies with 7.5 sacks.

• Geno Atkins' seven sacks are tied for the NFL lead among defensive tackles. Drafted in 2010 when Mike Zimmer was Cincinnati's coordinator, Atkins' 59 career sacks are the second most by an active interior defender trailing only Jacksonville's Calais Campbell (69).

• Green, the fourth-overall pick in the 2011 NFL draft, has the fourth-most receiving yards since entering the league with 8,085. His 57 touchdowns are sixth among NFL players in that span.

• Green leads the Bengals with 950 receiving yards, more than double Brandon LaFell's 452. His 121 targets are the eighth most in the league.

• Zimmer on Green: "Doesn't talk crap to anybody. Goes about his business. He's got exceptional hand strength, catches the ball well. First thing I noticed about him when he was a rookie was how strong his hands were."

• Lewis is in the second-longest active NFL head coaching tenure in the middle of his 15th season with a 123-118 record (0-7 in the playoffs).

• Lewis hired Zimmer as his defensive coordinator in 2008 for Cincinnati, where Zimmer spent six seasons before accepting his first head coaching job with the Vikings.

• On Vikings' 39-year-old cornerback Terence Newman, who played three seasons in Cincinnati: "In '03 when I started here, Terence was somebody we were considering when we had the first pick in the draft. It's incredible. He's done such a great job of taking care of himself."

• On his friendship with Zimmer: "Mike and I have been friends since '82-83, so we have a lot of coaching stories together. I consider him not only a great friend, but a tremendous coach."