The Minnesota Vikings deserve ample acclaim for taking down Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills, but clear issues still persist for the victors.
The plane ride from Buffalo to Minnesota will be a wild one. Perhaps wilder than Sunday’s 33-30 overtime win for the Vikings, who toppled the Bills in the most unimaginable way possible.
Consider this: from the two-minute warning through the game’s end, the following happened:
- On 4th and 18, trailing 27-23, Justin Jefferson makes an all-time, one-handed snag for 32 yards
- On 3rd and goal from the 6-yard line, Jefferson catches another Kirk Cousins pass and scores the apparent go-ahead touchdown. It’s correctly reversed on replay, placing him inside the 1-yard line.
- On 4th down, Cousins sneaks forward and gets denied.
- Josh Allen fumbles the snap and Minnesota recovers for a touchdown.
- Now trailing 30-27, Buffalo drives 69 yards in 39 seconds, sending the game to overtime on a 29-yard field goal.
- After winning the toss, Minnesota drives down for first-and-goal at the 2-yard line. The Vikings proceeded to go 13 yards backward and settle for a field goal, now leading 33-30.
- Buffalo drives into Minnesota’s red zone and Allen throws a hideous interception.
- Vikings win, 33-30, improving to 8-1.
Those eight bullet points happened within a half-hour of real-time.
Looking at that rundown, there’s no obvious trait to grasp onto for Minnesota, unless you know the season it’s had so far.
All year, the Vikings have been terrific late in tight games. Minnesota has won seven consecutive games, all by one score. Not surprisingly, head coach Kevin O’Connell has needed his team to make big plays on offense and defense to secure victories in each contest (as detailed here).
Each time, it’s happened.
Of course, there are issues to take up here. The Vikings needed a miracle fumble from Allen followed by a horrid read minutes later on the Patrick Peterson interception. They also failed to execute at the goal line prior to Allen’s bobbled snap. This wasn’t perfect, and in almost every normal afternoon, would have resulted in a narrow defeat.
But that’s to miss the grander point. The Vikings were trailing Buffalo 27-17 with less than 11 minutes to play in regulation. From then until the conclusion, Minnesota forced three turnovers from Allen. The defense permitted 486 total yards, but gathered four takeaways to beat the Super Bowl favorites in most sportsbooks.
The Vikings are going to win their division and therefore have expectations of advancing come January. They’ll also be doubted by many for their issues, some of which were on display Sunday including Cousins’ inability to get the touchdown on two late drives, and a defense that gives up a ton of yardage.
Still, the Vikings are 8-1 for a reason. They’re finding the big plays in the biggest moments.
There’s going to be time this week for discussion about how Minnesota eliminates the issues and emphasizes the strengths.
For that’s for another day. For now, there’s a 1-hour, 50-minute flight to enjoy.