NFL
The Bills’ Victory Over the Vikings Leaves Many Asking, What Happened?
The Buffalo Bills upset the Minnesota Vikings yesterday and it wasn’t even close. The game would have ended at 27-0 if not for a 4-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph from Kirk Cousins giving the Vikings their only points of the day. So, what happened to cause the second greatest NFL upset in the last two decades?
Offense By the Numbers
Buffalo’s offense on Sunday wasn’t anything spectacular. The Bills threw for 196 yards, 100 less than what the Vikings threw for. Josh Allen only threw the ball 22 times completing a total of 15 passes. Cousins’, like Allen, threw for one TD but with 40 completions of 55 attempts. The Vikings also moved the chains 5 more times than Buffalo did and had a greater 3rd down efficiency.
The Bills rushed for 128 yards off 38 carries giving them an average of 3.4 yards a carry; not a bad performance without star running back LeSean McCoy. The Vikings, on the other hand, rushed for a total of 14 yards; the absence of their star running back, Dalvin Cook, was painfully palpable. Minnesota’s offensive line struggled throughout the entirety of the contest.
The Vikings O-line failed to both run block and protect their quarterback. Only 44 passing yards out of the 296 Cousins threw for came in the first half. This lack of offensive production led to under 10 minutes of possession in the first half for the Cousins and the Vikings.
Hold the Hype for Allen & Co.
Both teams netted 292 yards even. The Bills scored a total of five times with three touchdowns and two field goals, however, it was Buffalo’s defense who set this up. For two of the three touchdown drives, the Bills started in the red zone of recovered fumbles by Cousins. By the end of the game, Allen has scored three touchdowns (one passing, one rushing) and ran for a total of 39 yards.
Allen’s performance was good but not great, however, it was the best of the offense. The Bill’s longest run was for 10 yards by Allen who ended up contributing a third of the team’s rushing yards. Buffalo’s offense seemed to rely on Allen’s legs and ability to complete a few passes when needed. The performance was enough to put up 27 points, 14 of which were directly correlated to the defense, the defense that won them the game.
Buffalo’s Mafia Style Defense
Buffalo’s defense is the real story of Sunday’s upset. Last year the Bills had the 26th ranked defense in the league; they were ranked 20th in pass defense and 29th in run defense. This past weekend you wouldn’t have been able to guess it. The Bill’s defense sacked Cousins four times and on two of those takedowns forced a fumble and recovered it. Linebacker Tremaine Edmunds along with defensive end Trent Murphy caused problems or Minnesota’s offensive line all game. Minnesota’s offense had no answers for Buffalo’s pass rush.
While the Bills secondary held their ground as well, they had very little to do until the fourth quarter. In the first half, they only allowed 44 passing yards while setting their offense up to score twice. Cousins after the game complimented Buffalo’s defensive schemes. Buffalo’s defense won this game and deserves the appropriate credit for doing so.
Did the Vikings Overlook the Bills?
Speculation began during the game that the Vikings had potentially overlooked the Bills. Minnesota is set to play the Los Angeles Rams this Thursday, the team the entire NFC is chasing. Vikings head coach Mike Zimmerman addressed this question in his postgame press conference, “Obviously I didn’t do a well enough job preparing this football team for this game.” However, Vikings’ RB Latavius Murray refuted the idea that they looked over the Bills.
Ram-ifications
The entirety of the NFC is looking up at the Los Angeles Rams and has been since the off-season. The Vikings had strong Super Bowl hopes after signing free agent QB Kirk Cousins this past spring. Minnesota looked to bounce back from their NFC Championship loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. The Vikings now sit 9th in the conference with a 1-1-1 record. They’ve also fallen to third in their division ahead of only the Detroit Lions. With a stretch of difficult games ahead of them, they needed this Buffalo game in their win column.
For Buffalo, this victory means something very different. Likely it will be a locker room morality boost at best. The young squad now boasts a 1-2 record and is projected to remain at the bottom of their division. It is unclear when McCoy will be back and at what health he will return. While the Patriots are currently third in the AFC East, no one will be surprised if New England wins it again this year. Also, in the Bills’ division are the 3-0 Miami Dolphins along with Sam Darnold and the 1-2 Jets. So even if the Patriots are not the division winners come January, it likely won’t be the Bills either. This victory isn’t meaningless by any stretch. However, it was a bigger loss for Minnesota than it was a win for Buffalo.
Follow Lauren on Twitter @LaurenP_52 and TSJ’s NFL Department @TSJ101SportsNFL
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Photo credit to Felix Josephat via Flickr
