The Buffalo Bills went to Minnesota as huge underdogs and proceeded to embarrass the Minnesota Vikings to pick up their first win in 2018.
The Buffalo Bills are going to be moving up in those pesky power rankings this week.
The Bills, who many ranked as the worst team in the NFL, just marched into Minnesota and blew out the Vikings. The Kirk Cousins honeymoon is officially over.
The Bills didn’t score in the second half but that didn’t matter as they entered halftime with a 27-0 lead. On the road. After starting the season 0-2 in games that were never close.
Josh Allen was the star in this one as he picked up two rushing touchdowns on a day when LeSean McCoy was out with an injury. He also had a passing touchdown in his first career victory.
This was certainly an odd sight to see after the way the season started. But things did seem to be turning around last week in the second half. The defense was playing at a whole new level and that continued today.
Kirk Cousins padded his stats at the end to finish with 296 yards, but that came on 40 completions. As for the run game of the Vikings, it was nearly nonexistent. The Bills held the Vikings to 14 yards on six carries. Much better than what fans were expecting. Or anyone for that matter.
There was also this:
This just in: Josh Allen has ups!#BUFvsMIN #GoBills pic.twitter.com/xv6cxtKu2h
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) September 23, 2018
That play showed Allen’s teammates that he will do what it takes to win. But maybe next time he slides so he doesn’t have the potential to get blasted. We don’t need any reason for Nathan Peterman to play again.
The Bills have now played three games this season that have essentially been over by halftime. This time, fans got to sit back and actually enjoy the second half. There was no talk of moral victories or looks ahead toward the draft.
The only major concern on the day was the play of Kelvin Benjamin. He had some key drops and just isn’t looking like a number one receiver. That may explain why nine players finished with at least one target on the day.
Minnesota is considered a top contender in the NFC. Bills fans should not overlook that after this game. This showed that the Bills have the ability to reach the postseason once again. Just think how much better things could have been if McCoy was healthy and the receivers weren’t dropping passes.
The Josh Allen era is here as young quarterbacks are taking the NFL by storm. He didn’t have a crazy game through the air but he didn’t make mistakes and also showed he can scramble and turn potential negative plays into big gains.
Next up is a road game in Green Bay. That originally seemed like a tough game to win. But after this dismantling of the Vikings, the Bills aren’t going to be huge underdogs next Sunday.