It’s Victory Tuesday for the Buffalo Bills as they are celebrating a tough 23-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings. It wasn't a pretty win, but the fact that Buffalo got a double-digit win in the fashion that they did just shows how tough of a team they are.
The Bills moved to 7-1 on the season and will now turn towards their second divisional game when they take on the New York Jets in Week 10. But for now, the Bills should be enjoying this hard-fought win over a top team in the NFC and the NFL.
With that, we have members of the Bills that stood out in this primetime win that deserve to be recognized...as well as members that have some things to clean up of their own.
Winners and losers from Bills' massive win over Vikings in Week 9
Winners
RB James Cook
The offense was running through James Cook as he rushed 31 times for over 100 yards and a touchdown to essentially end any chance the Vikings had at any comeback victory. We knew that Minnesota's defense was ferocious, but their run-defense has not been the greatest this season.
While Cook only averaged 3.5 yards per carry, him still rushing for over 100 yards showed how physical he was and how he was able to endure a tough and physical matchup against the Vikings.
K Tyler Bass
Tyler Bass continues to be the most consistent Bill this season as he had 11 points which included going 3/3 on field goal tries (39, 25, 52) and 2/2 on PAT attempts. Bass would have had 4 field goals if the Bills didn't commit a false start that knocked them nearly out of field goal range and then Joe Brady opting to punt the ball away.
Bass is now 18/18 on field goal tries, which is now the best start to a season by a Bills kicker in their franchise history.
LB Dorian Williams
Had it not been for the turning play of the game for the Bills by Dorian Williams, this game could have gone more differently for Buffalo. The Vikings were down 10-6 at the start of the 3rd quarter and they were driving into Buffalo's territory.
However, Carson Wentz' pathetic performance continued on as he threw an interception to Williams that stopped the Vikings from taking the lead in the game. Without that play, Minnesota was going to score on that drive somehow and someway. It was also Williams' second interception of the season and of his career.
LB Terrel Bernard
Just like Williams, his running mate in Terrel Bernard also recorded an interception that stopped the Vikings from trying to get back into this game. Bernard could have had a second interception that was thrown right to him, but it bounced off his chest. Bernard also had 2 pass deflections, 1 QB hit, and led the teams with 6 total tackles.
OLB Greg Rousseau
The most sacks that Greg Rousseau has in a season in his career is 8, which is how many he has through 9 weeks of this season. He managed to bring Wentz down for a sack, record a pass deflection, and he had 3 QB hits as well as a fumble recovery. He was unbelievable, plain and simple.
TE Keleki Latu
It felt like Buffalo's offense was never going to get in the endzone in the first half, and they almost didn't at one point. But then on their final drive of the first half, the Bills found some spark and Josh Allen drove the offense down the field and connected with tight end Keleki Latu for a 25-yard touchdown to give the Bills a 10-3 lead late in the 2nd quarter.
It was Latu's first touchdown of his career, and it came at a time where the Bills needed it.
DC Jim Leonhard
Buffalo's defense has now a two-game streak of allowing less than 200 yards of total offense to their opponent, which shows that Jim Leonhard has started to adjust his scheme after this defensive unit was a mess before their bye week.
The defense had 3 takeaways, 2 sacks, and didn't let the Vikings convert on third or fourth down. That is unreal, and it doesn't matter who was starting at quarterback for Minnesota. Leonhard deserves a lot of praise.
Losers
OL Tylan Grable
With Dion Dawkins and Alec Anderson being ruled out with injuries, Tylan Grable and Austin Corbett had to step up on the left side of the line. While they ultimately got the job done, it was a rough night for Grable who stepped in for Dawkins at left tackle.
Grable was solid in replacing Spencer Brown when he was out with his back injury, but in this game against Vikings, Grable had multiple penalties and he gave up a good amount of pressure. This was not the ideal week for not just 1, but 2 starting offensive linemen missing, but Buffalo and Grable managed to push through.
WR Keon Coleman
While he didn't necessarily have a bad game, Keon Coleman led the Bills with 6 targets, but he only finished with 3 catches for 17 yards. In all fairness, Coleman can't control where the ball is going and how much time Josh Allen had in the pocket. However, Coleman didn't make a huge impact that fans may have been hoping for.
HC Joe Brady
I'm putting Joe Brady in this category because the penalties for the Bills is getting out of hand. Buffalo has yet to have a game with no more than 5 penalties this season and they added on 8 more for 62 yards against Minnesota.
For as great as Brady has the Bills playing, they still remain one of the more undisciplined teams in the league. That falls onto Brady's shoulders, and it's only a matter of time before penalties end up costing the Bills a couple of games. He's got to clean it up and clean it up fast.
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