Vikings Lose MNF Matchup Against Bills 23-6 As the Offense Stalls Yet Again

The Minnesota Vikings had a great opportunity on a primetime stage to bounce back from their Week 8 loss, but the Buffalo Bills had other plans as they defeated the Vikings 23-6 in a game where Minnesota's offense struggled yet again.

On that note, the Vikings ended up starting Carson Wentz at quarterback since fellow quarterback Kyler Murray is dealing with a hamstring injury, but even with the change at the quarterback position, Minnesota could not find offensive success.

For the game, Wentz completed 8 of his 25 passes for 75 yards, zero touchdowns, and two interceptions. With the struggles in the passing game for Minnesota, wide receiver Justin Jefferson was not able to get involved a ton, as he had two receptions for 39 yards on 10 targets, which once again showed how much the passing game is struggling.

It is important to note that head coach Kevin O'Connell did pull Wentz and put in Max Brosmer at quarterback which resulted in a solid drive, but it ended in a turnover on downs which was the final drive of the game for Minnesota.

On the ground, Minnesota did not have a great performance either as they ran it 12 times for 51 yards and averaged 4.3 yards per carry which is a decent number, but with issues in the passing game, the ground attack has to be much better.

Now shifting to the defense, Brian Flores' unit did all they could to shut down Bills' quarterback Josh Allen as they generated pressure all game long while sacking him four times and hitting him a total of 11 times, and picking him off once with cornerback Byron Murphy Jr. making an incredible play to get the interception in the first quarter.

The defense had a strong first half, but at the end, Allen was able to lead the Bills on a solid 2-minute drive and to end the drive, Allen threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to tight end Keleki Latu to give Buffalo some momentum heading into the second half. 

Speaking of the second half, the Bills were able to lean on the ground attack, with running back James Cook leading the way, which really shortened the game as Buffalo did a great job establishing their physicality.

On Monday, the Bills ran the ball 44 times for 134 yards and one touchdown while averaging 3.0 yards per carry, which was not the most efficient, but it got the job done for Buffalo. As far as the air attack goes, Allen completed 21 of his 31 passes for 234 yards, one touchdown, and one interception.

All that said, the Minnesota defense did everything they could to be able to stop Allen and the Bills, but for how much the Vikings defense was on the field, the defense simply wore down while the offense could not get anything going.

As a result of the loss, the Vikings now fall to 6-2 losing their second consecutive game and have a tough task next week as they go on the road to take on their division rival Green Bay Packers. 

Moving forward, the Vikings have to figure out an answer at the quarterback position, and with the trade deadline being tomorrow, it is worth wondering if Minnesota does try to make a move for a quarterback because it is clear that the Vikings need to make a change at that position with Murray and Wentz each struggling this season, otherwise, Minnesota could waste what is arguably the best defense in the entire NFL.