The 7-1 Minnesota Vikings Face A Big-League Test Against The Super Bowl Favorite Bills

The 7-1 record that the Vikings will bring to Orchard Park, New York on Sunday to face the Buffalo Bills is impressive. That record won’t matter a bit once the game kicks off.

The Bills are largely considered to be the favorite to win the Super Bowl this season, even though they will face considerable competition from the Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals. When the Bills are operating at peak efficiency, they are the most dominating team in the league.

They Bills are 3-0 at home and two of the games were blowouts over the Titans and Steelers. The other victory was a 10-point win over the Packers, a decision that all Vikings fans applauded.

This is the most difficult assignment of the year for the Vikings, and there is much to prove. The Vikings have not won a game by more than one score since the opening week of the season, and many of the team’s critics believe they are nowhere near as good as their 7-1 record indicates.

Obviously, assessments from the experts in the media or fans don’t matter. The Vikings are coming through when the game is on the line in the fourth quarter and demonstrating their skill and confidence. They faced a 10-point deficit against the Commanders in the fourth quarter last week and executed efficiently during the road win.

But the Bills are in a different class than the Commanders and they are coming off a road loss to the Jets. They are likely prepared for a top effort when they see the Vikings take the field. However, they may not have their superb quarterback Jake Allen in the lineup. Allen has a UCL sprain to his right elbow, and that could keep him sidelined.

That clearly would be a big blow for Buffalo, but not necessarily one that would keep them from asserting themselves. Former Vikings quarterback Case Keenum will take over for Allen if he can’t go, and he is a very capable backup.

Keenum and Bills receiver Stefon Diggs authored one of the most memorable moments in Vikings history in the 2017 divisional playoff victory over the New Orleans Saints. Trailing 24-23 with the ball on their own 31 in what turned out to be the final play of the game, Keenum hit Diggs with a pass to the sidelines, and the receiver escaped the attempted tackle of safety Marcus Williams and raced into the end zone. With that play, the Vikings earned a 29-24 victory and advanced to the NFC Championship game, and the Minneapolis Miracle was etched into the team’s history.

This marks the first time that Diggs will play against his old team, and he is the Bills’ most dangerous offensive weapon. Diggs has caught 60 of 83 targets for 857 yards and 7 touchdowns. He has 406 more receiving yards than No. 2 receiver Gabe Davis, and slowing Diggs down will be as important an assignment for the Vikings as limiting Justin Jefferson will be for the Bills.

One of the keys for the Vikings will be the performance of the secondary, and that’s always an issue for head coach Kevin O’Connell’s team. That unit is performing better than it did in either of the last two years, but it is not a strength. In order to slow down Diggs and Davis, the Vikings must pressure Allen or Keenum.

The combination of Danielle Hunter and Za’Darius Smith is starting to pay dividends for Minnesota. Hunter came up with a dynamic fourth-quarter sack against Washington and has 5 for the season, while Smith 8.5 QB traps. The 1-2 punch that the Vikings thought they would have in the offseason is getting stronger on a week-to-week basis.

On the other side, the Bills defense can be ferocious at home, so the Minnesota offensive line has to come up with its best performance of the season. Will center Garrett Bradbury and Ed Ingram be able to hold up under pressure from Von Miller and his mates?

That’s where this game will be decided. If the Vikings can deliver pressure from the front seven and manage to keep quarterback Kirk Cousins upright, another close win is possible. If not, look for the Bills to give the Vikings a painful dose of reality that hasn’t been seen since their Week 2 loss to the Eagles.