The Buffalo Bills blew out the Baltimore Ravens 36-10 after their bye week to move to 6-1 and remain the AFC’s top seed. Meanwhile, the Minnesota Vikings suffered their first loss of the season to the Detroit Lions, 19-15, to fall to 6-1 and the NFC’s second seed. Because of the loss, no teams are undefeated in the NFL.
Buffalo Bills Heading Into Monday Night Football
Both teams have been among the NFL’s best, as they are among the three remaining teams with one loss, along with the San Francisco 49ers. Now the Bills and the Vikings will face off in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on Monday Night Football in a big Week 9 showdown with major implications for the NFC and AFC conferences.
The Bills delivered their best performance of the season, dominating the injury-plagued Ravens on both sides of the ball. The Bills’ struggling defense limited the Ravens to 10 points and forced three turnovers—a season high. They also allowed only 144 yards, a season low and well below their average of 352.1 yards allowed per game.
After a slow start that saw Buffalo’s offense score only one touchdown and commit two turnovers, it bounced back in the second half and scored three of its four touchdowns. Despite throwing an interception, Josh Allen played at an MVP level, throwing two touchdowns on 289 yards and rushing for one touchdown on 30 yards. Their offensive playmakers also made an impact as James Cook, Dalton Kincaid, and D.J. Moore all scored touchdowns.
The One-Loss Vikings Heading Into Battle With Buffalo
The Vikings suffered their first loss of the season against the Lions as their offensive struggles continued. Minnesota scored only 15 points against Detroit, which has one of the worst total defenses, and generated 266 yards. Although Kyler Murray threw two touchdowns, the running game struggled, generating 81 yards on 18 carries, with Murray as the lead rusher.
Minnesota’s defense also gave up a season-high 230 rushing yards and a touchdown, despite limiting Jared Goff to under 200 passing yards. However, there were positives despite the loss: the unit forced its 12th takeaway of the season, limited one of the league’s most explosive offenses to a season-low 19 points, had four sacks, and stopped the Lions from converting 13 third downs on 18 attempts.
Bills vs. Vikings Game Details
Buffalo Bills (6-1) @ Minnesota Vikings (6-1)
Head-to-Head: 9-6, Minnesota Vikings
Last Meeting: 33-30, Minnesota Vikings (2022)
Time: 8:15 p.m. (EST)
Location: U.S. Bank Stadium| Minneapolis, MNTV: ESPN and ABC
Radio: KFAN 100.3 FM| KTLK 1130 AM | WGR 550 Sports Radio | SiriusXM 192, 193, XM App
Odds: Bills -3 | O/U: 43.5
This will be the 16th meeting between the interconference opponents and the 7th in Minnesota. At home, the Vikings have won four of the six meetings, with their last loss coming in 2018. However, the Bills have won four of the last six contests. The last time they met in Minnesota was in 2018, when the Bills blew out the Vikings 27-6.
Bills Offense Must Be Disciplined
The Bills have been among the NFL’s best teams heading into Monday Night Football, winning six of their first seven games this season. A big reason is their offense, second in the league in total offense at 393.1 yards per game. The unit averages the most points per game (33.3), and its running game ranks third-best in the NFL at 148.4 yards per game.
However, the offense showed some struggles recently, turning the ball over twice in the first half against Baltimore to bring their season total to 11. The slow start let the Ravens stay in the game heading into halftime—something that a stronger team would have capitalized on. They also struggled on third-down conversions, converting only 4 of 14 attempts, and committed 10 penalties for 87 yards.
If they’re undisciplined again, they may not get away with it.
Josh Allen Gives Respect to Minnesota Defense
Buffalo will now face its toughest test of the season on Monday Night Football against the Vikings defense, the league’s best at allowing the fewest points per game (13.3). The toughest defense they’ve faced so far, New England, ranked ninth in points allowed per game (entering Sunday). Every other defense Buffalo has faced ranks 12th or worse in points allowed per game.
Josh Allen talked about preparing for Minnesota’s defense and embracing the challenge:
“It’s hard to game plan for a team like this because there aren’t any weaknesses, you know. And it’s just like you turn your eyes and you’re wrong, right? So, you have to be on top of it,” Allen said. “As a competitor, you’re like, yeah, heck yeah, I want to play the best. I want to go out there and prove why we are what you say is the number one offense.”
Key toe the game: Minnesota’s defense needs to bend, not break
James Cook and Bills Running Game Could be Key
The Vikings showed last week that despite the loss to the Lions, their defense can go toe-to-toe with the NFL’s best offenses. The Lions, the league’s No. 1 total offense, were limited to a season-low 19 points and 154 passing yards. Minnesota also stopped Detroit from converting eight of 13 third-down attempts. However, the Lions exposed a potential vulnerability by rushing for 230 yards.
With Buffalo having the third-best running game, the Bills will look to expose that against the Vikings on Monday Night Football.
James Cook has been critical to Buffalo’s success in the running game, ranking in the top 10 in all rushing categories. In 138 carries, he has rushed for 707 yards and scored seven touchdowns, averaging 5.1 yards per carry. During his press conference on Friday, Buffalo Bills head coach Joe Brady said he wants to see what the offense can do on Monday Night Football:
“The biggest thing is us understanding our technique and fundamentals, and not letting the scheme or the moments or anything like that be bigger than it needs to be,” Brady said. “We know James Cook is a huge component of who we are as an offense. We’re obviously going to need to be a balanced, two-dimensional team.”
Key to the game: If the Lions can’t stop Cook and Allen on the ground, expect big numbers for Buffalo through the air.
Bills Defense Needs to Find Itself
Even though most of the focus is on how Buffalo’s offense will play against Minnesota’s defense, it will also be critical for the Bills’ defense, among the worst in the NFL, to build on its best performance of the season last week ahead of Monday Night Football. The Ravens’ quarterback injuries helped the unit post its best performance, but now they have to limit a Vikings offense that has playmakers despite its struggles. As Brady said, the Bills need to be a balanced, two-dimensional team if they want to get their biggest win of the season on Monday Night Football.
Key to the game: The Bills defense from the Baltimore game has to show up and get pressures
Vikings Looking For An Offensive Spark With Carson Wentz
In their first loss of the season last week, the team was exposed as the offense failed to find a rhythm against a poor Lions’ defense. Their defense also failed to make critical stops, allowing the Lions to score a game-winning touchdown and dominating on the ground.
Minnesota’s offense will look significantly different on Monday night as Murray will be out with a hamstring injury, giving backup quarterback Carson Wentz the start. Wentz has been in this position since he came in for Murray during Week 1 after Murray sustained a concussion, and he started against the Bears the following week. In those two games, he threw three touchdowns for 276 yards and led his team to two wins. Head coach Kevin O’Connell is confident Wentz can lead the Vikings to a win on Monday Night Football.
“We feel very strongly about when [Wentz’s] in there, we’re going to get really effective quarterback play. He’s a steadying presence and a guy we know can go in and play good football,” O’Connell said. “There’s a ton of confidence in Carson [Wentz]. My expectation is Carson’s going to play really well.”
Minnesota’s offense has been frustrating this season despite having some formidable weapons like Justin Jefferson (only 28 receptions for 335 yards and four touchdowns). Heading into Sunday, they ranked 29th in the NFL in total offense, averaging 279.4 yards per game, and second-worst through the air, with 165.6 yards per game. They have also averaged 20 points per game—27th in the NFL. In their loss against the Lions, they only managed to score 15 points while generating 266 yards and struggled to sustain long drives, as they had possession of the ball for 24 minutes, 11 minutes less than the Lions.
Ahead of Monday Night Football, Wentz talked about what he wants to bring to an offense that desperately needs a spark.
“I think it’s just been too inconsistent, even when I was playing early. I thought we just were too inconsistent staying on the field. Our goal this week is to stay on the field,” Wentz said. “Our defense is playing lights out, and so I think we’ve got to just find ways to stay on the field and keep them off the field.”
Along with trying to help the offense stay on the field, Wentz said he wants to get Jefferson as involved as possible on Monday Night Football. The last time the Bills and Vikings faced each other in 2022, Jefferson torched Buffalo’s defense with 10 receptions for 193 yards and a touchdown. With the Vikings’ defense set to face the NFL’s highest-scoring offense on Monday Night Football, the offense needs its best performance of the season to keep up with the Bills and have a chance to win.
Key to the game: Get the ball to Jefferson early and keep Bills offense off the field.
Prediction
Bills 27, Vikings 23
Main Image: David Brytus-Imagn Images
