When the Minnesota Vikings travel to face the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, it will be one of the biggest matchups in the NFL. The Bills are considered to be Super Bowl contenders. The Vikings would like to make this a Super Bowl preview.
But the one thing everyone wants to talk about is Josh Allen’s elbow.
The Bills quarterback was injured on the final drive of their loss to the New York Jets when defensive end Bryce Huff decided to play Stretch Armstrong with his throwing arm. Although Allen launched a 69.3-yard pass moments after the injury – the longest pass attempt in the past six years – Sean McDermott has kept his injury status under wraps.
Allen missed practice on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. When media cameras caught Allen with a wrap on his arm, Allen sprinted off the field like Bigfoot running back into the woods.
If Allen, who is listed as questionable, can’t play on Sunday, Vikings legend Case Keenum will get the start. While that would increase the chance of Minnesota earning a tough road win, some Vikings fans believe that beating Keenum would tarnish a victory in Buffalo.
If you’re part of that crowd, hop in the Delorean and travel back to 2019. The Vikings were 6-2 and heading to face the Kansas City Chiefs. The matchup was supposed to be a showdown between a chainless Kirk Cousins and noted quarterback god Patrick Mahomes. Minnesota was ready to show they were a legitimate contender — until Mahomes was ruled out with a toe injury.
Instead, the Chiefs started Matt Moore, who was serving as a substitute teacher before returning for one last run in Kansas City. The game should have been a walk in the park for the Vikings.
However, that’s not what happened.
The Chiefs were a dominant team on their way to winning the Super Bowl. The game was in Arrowhead Stadium, one of the biggest home-field advantages south of Minneapolis. Although Mahomes was out, they still had enough weapons to be a dangerous team.
Tyreek Hill caught a touchdown early to put the Chiefs on the board. Damien Williams ripped off a 91-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. Travis Kelce caught seven passes for 62 yards, and Hill mossed Trae Waynes on the final drive to set up a game-winning field goal from Harrison Butker.
With Cousins looking more like “Bad Kirk” than “Kirko Chainz,” the Vikings struggled and wound up with a 26-23 loss to the Moore-led Chiefs.
That loss wound up being a defining moment for the 2019 season. The Vikings were a .500 team down the stretch despite playing a soft quarterback schedule that included David Blough, Brandon Allen, and Chase Daniel. They won a playoff game, but they were never actual contenders.
If we fire up the 1.21 gigawatts and return to the present, the Vikings face a similar team on Sunday.
Stefon Diggs will be the main attraction. In 2019, Diggs was begging Mike Zimmer for more opportunities, and it ultimately landed him in Buffalo. The trade netted the Vikings Justin Jefferson, and Zimmer and Rick Spielman are no longer with the team. But Diggs has proven himself as one of the best receivers in the NFL. He will likely go up against Patrick Peterson and Akayleb Evans on Sunday.
The Vikings will also have to deal with Gabriel Davis. Although Davis isn’t a volume target, he has enough speed to take the top off the defense. That was an issue against the Philadelphia Eagles when a mix-up between Camryn Bynum and Cameron Dantzler led to Quez Watkins’s 53-yard touchdown.
While Buffalo’s rushing attack will take a hit without Allen’s 6.1 yards per carry, Vikings fans should know more than anyone that Keenum can take a functional offense and keep it from falling apart.
And we haven’t even talked about the Bills’ defense yet, which hasn’t allowed an opponent to score more than 21 points this season. That includes matchups with Kansas City, the Baltimore Ravens, and Miami Dolphins, who all rank in the top three in Football Outsiders’ offensive DVOA metric.
After Ezra Cleveland single-handedly gave Jonathan Allen a reason to renegotiate his contract with nine pressures allowed against Washington, they’ll now have to go up against Von Miller, who Buffalo will likely throw right into the middle of the Vikings’ offensive line.
All of this comes in an environment where fans throw themselves through flaming tables for fun.
To recap, the Vikings will be dealing with an offense that can score, a quarterback who can create miracles, an elite defense and a fan base who will probably try to recreate Edge’s spear on Mick Foley from WrestleMania 22 in the parking lot. But that might not be enough for a fan base that is insecure from years of being teased.
Perhaps the biggest reason to go with the flow is the NFC playoff picture, where the Vikings are trying to pry home-field advantage from the Eagles. Unlike college football, the playoff seeding isn’t decided by 20 guys from the 1970s discussing the strength of schedule. It’s predicated on wins and losses.
If the Vikings can beat Buffalo, they’ll officially be a team to be reckoned with – even if Allen is watching from the sidelines.
