Week 9: Keys to Victory on Sunday

In one of the best games to be played this Sunday the Vikings travel to Buffalo to take on the 6-2 Bills. This should be one of the biggest matchups this season. The Vikings, despite having a 7-1 record, have shown their own flaws and haven’t yet played a particularly great team this season. It will be huge to pick up a win this week.

Here are some keys to victory for the Vikings:

1. Contain Josh Allen and Diggs. Josh Allen did participate in practice this Friday and I assume he will play. He is a top quarterback in this league and the Vikings must prepare for him. His scrambling ability is beyond ridiculous and he has a great arm. It will especially be important for the Vikings edge rushers Smith and Hunter to generate pressure and contain Allen from making those extra plays. Traded to the Bills during the 2020 offseason, Stefon Diggs will be playing for the first time against his former team and while I love Diggs, I hope we shut him down. However, with a team like the Bills we can’t do that, we just need to contain. Allen and Diggs will get their touches but if we can minimize what they do, that is the key. If we can make sure the offense does not get in a rhythm the Vikings will have a shot to win this game.
2. Feed Dalvin Cook. The Bills defense has been great this season, but over the last few weeks they haven’t been good against the run and Dalvin Cook is one of the best running backs in the league. He will need to generate those 5 plus yard runs to get the Bills defense tired and open up the play action for the passing attack.
3. Receivers step up to help Jefferson. Jefferson has been great this year but he and Hockenson can’t do this all by themselves. Kj Osborn has not looked himself compared to the great year he had last year and Adam Theilen is seeming to show his age. However, someone is going to have to step up and make some plays if we want to win this game.
4. Another major thing the offense needs to do is stop having a bunch of 3 and outs. With a team like the Bills, you can’t keep giving them the ball and expect to shut them down. Control the clock and make smart decisions if you want to win and not stall out on offense for 2 1/2 quarters.