The Bills and Vikings have identical 0-4 Super Bowl records. They enter Monday night’s game with an identical 6-1 record.
And the stakes are very high for both teams.
For Buffalo, which hopes to force a January route to SoFi Stadium via the new outdoor venue in Western New York, it’s important to maintain distance between the 6-2 Jaguars and the 7-2 Broncos. (The division appears to be losing to the Bills, with the Patriots now at 5-4.)
For Minnesota, their status as the last undefeated team in the NFL could turn into the last team out of the NFC playoffs.
The NFC North, which is now 20-3 outside the division, has the Vikings at 6-1, the Lions at 6-2, the Bears at 6-2 and the Packers at 6-3. (In total, they lost as many games as the 0-8 Chargers.)
Last week, when the Vikings suffered their first loss of the season, the Lions, Bears and Packers won. This week, the Lions, Bears and Packers won. A Vikings loss would end a two-week window in which the Vikings are 0-2 and the rest of the division is 6-0.
It’s even worse. The 49ers, Seahawks and Rams each won on Sunday. Ultimately, five playoff spots will go to the four teams in the NFC North and the top three teams in the NFC West.
Two of these teams will be excluded. And frankly, the Vikings seem destined to be one of them.
Even with a 6-2 record, if they lose to the Bills. Because even though the defense is good enough to win a Super Bowl, the offense isn’t good enough to win a playoff game. This could be bad enough to keep the team from making the playoffs.
It was one thing for the Vikings defense to not complain when the end result of each game was a victory. If the second game of a four-week series doesn’t go Minnesota’s way (the Packers and 49ers are next), things could get even trickier in the locker room.
The problem is, despite much speculation and chatter, the Vikings don’t seem inclined to pull the emergency option of trading for Daniel Jones or Kirk Cousins. The organization’s chronic “just good enough is just good enough” vibe remains palpable.
Which means it all comes down to Carson Wentz against the Bills.
Could Minnesota win? When Buffalo last visited Minnesota in 2018, the Vikings entered the game as 17-point favorites. The Bills, powered by rookie quarterback Josh Allen, threw for 196 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 39 yards and two touchdowns (including an obstacle on linebacker Anthony Barr), won the match easily, 27-6. (Last week, Allen said jumping over a linebacker was the moment he realized “My place is here. “)
Four years ago, the Bills were favored by 6.5 points over the Vikings. Minnesota won a wild overtime game, 33-30, with Vikings receiver Justin Jefferson make the catch of the century on a line play with a fourth down.
Tonight, in many ways, the season is on the line for the Vikings. Especially if they don’t try to improve the team’s most important position, which in recent weeks has been the weakest on the roster.
Gn sports
