The Bills are not winning pretty, and on Monday night at Highmark Stadium that was the entire point. Buffalo kept Minnesota out of the end zone, held them to nine first downs and 0-for-10 on third down, and walked off with a 23-6 win that puts Joe Brady’s team alone at the top of the AFC race.

Minnesota came to western New York at 6-1 and left with its second straight loss and a quarterback problem it cannot hide.

Allen blitzed at a career-high rate

Minnesota sent extra rushers at Josh Allen on 68.6% of his dropbacks, the highest blitz rate he has ever faced. It mostly did not work. Allen finished 21 of 31 for 234 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and his one scoring throw was the shot that broke the game open: rolling right with 44 seconds left in the second quarter, he found tight end Keleki Latu for a 25-yard touchdown.

The touchdown was also his 322nd regular-season score, which tied Peyton Manning’s record for the most in a player’s first 10 seasons.

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Cook: 31 carries, 107 yards

James Cook did the grinding. He had 33 yards on 15 carries at halftime and then kept getting the ball until Minnesota’s front cracked, finishing with 107 yards and a touchdown on 31 carries. Tyler Bass added three field goals and extended his franchise record to 24 straight made kicks.

Cook said the Bills had always expected it to go this way.

“We stuck with it, stuck with it, and eventually we broke it. We knew what type of game it was,” he told reporters after the win.

The time of possession reads like a punishment: 42:32 to 17:28.

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Wentz pulled, 8.9 passer rating

Minnesota’s night was the opposite kind of grind. Carson Wentz went 8 of 25 for 81 yards with two interceptions and was pulled midway through the fourth quarter for backup Max Brosmer, according to ESPN’s recap. His 8.9 passer rating was the lowest posted by any starting quarterback in a game since Sam Darnold’s 3.6 in 2019.

Justin Jefferson was targeted 11 times and caught three for 58 yards. Buffalo’s defense recorded four sacks, and cornerback Byron Murphy returned an interception 55 yards to set up a score. Linebackers Terrel Bernard and Dorian Williams each picked Wentz off.

“This one felt pretty terrible,” Wentz said afterwards.

O’Connell takes the blame

Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell did not try to soften the picture.

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“Put tonight 100% on me. We’ve got to improve offensively, at a rapid pace,” he told reporters.

Minnesota started the season 6-0. The team is 0-2 since and the quarterback question that sat under the surface through October is now the central story of the season.

Buffalo, meanwhile, travels to Miami to face the Dolphins in Week 11 on Sunday, 15 November.

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