Atrás
The Buffalo Bills (7-1) have been rolling this season thanks to a few of their best players having career seasons as the franchise seeks to finally get over the hump of getting to the Super Bowl. Buffalo had one of its toughest tests of the season as they paid a visit to the Minnesota Vikings (6-2), but it looked like the Bills had no issue with going against wide receiver Justin Jefferson and company.
The Bills beat the Vikings on Monday Night Football 23-6 as they dominated Minnesota on both sides of the ball while some of the usual suspects showed up for the team. Quarterback Josh Allen completed 21 of his 31 passes for 234 yards and one touchdown (one interception) while running back James Cook had a whale of a game as he carried the football 31 times for 107 yards and one touchdown.
On the other end of the field, the Bills frustrated Wentz and company as he completed just eight of his 25 passes for 81 yards while throwing two interceptions against a Buffalo secondary that has given up some big plays. The main facet of the game that worked in the Bills' favor was time of possession as they had the football for 42 minutes and 32 seconds while Minnesota had the ball for just 17:28.
Here is the stock report for the Bills following Monday's win over the Vikings:
Allen didn't have the most prolific game as the Bills were committed to running the ball against a Vikings defense that essentially begged Buffalo to not pass. With that being said, Allen did a great job of managing the game despite throwing one interception, but it never seemed like Minnesota's defense had Allen's number except for his running game.
To keep this entry within context, Coleman, along with any of Buffalo's wide-receivers weren't able to get any chunk plays with regularity, which is somewhere that Coleman thrives. While Coleman has been solid over the past few weeks, this is one of those performances where he tends to disappear, even when Allen is able to air the football out like he did in this contest.
Bernard has long been one of the best players in Buffalo's defensive unit for the past few years and Monday's matchup against the Vikings was another example why given his overall impact on the game. Bernard did his part to be impactful in run support, but he also showed his ability to cover ground and make plays on the ball, like he did when he intercepted Carson Wentz.
Walker was part of a Bills defensive line that was putting pressure on Wentz all game long and while he didn't have any plays that stood out within the greater context of the game, Buffalo is hoping to see more from him. The Vikings struggled to do anything on the offensive side of the ball in this one so the Bills' defense didn't suffer from Walker's lackluster game, but he is capable of providing more.
Buffalo's defense, specifically the defensive secondary, had something to prove against a Vikings team that had players like wide receiver Justin Jefferson and tight end TJ Hockenson running around the field in the passing game. However, the Bills managed to keep Minnesota's entire passing game in check by putting pressure on Wentz to the point that he was missing some routine passes.
While this entry could very much go to running back James Cook, it's time to acknowledge how good kicker Tyler Bass has been this season, especially considering that he's been perfect through eight games. Bass not only finished this game nailing all three of his field-goal attempts, he also showed off his leg by hitting a 52-yarder when Buffalo was trying to keep Minnesota at bay.