The Minnesota Vikings, coming off their first loss of the 2026 regular season, will make their first prime time appearance of the year against one of the National Football League’s best teams.
US Bank Stadium will host Monday Night Football to wrap up Week 9, as the Vikings host the Buffalo Bills. Both of these teams come into this one with 6-1 records, but they do it in different ways.
The Vikings come into this one with one of the best defenses in the league, but they’ve struggled mightily on offense in their first eight games. They’ve surpassed the 20-point mark just twice since their season opener, and their lack of punch contributed to their 19-15 loss at Detroit in Week 8 to knock them from the NFL’s undefeated ranks. The Vikings’ offense was unable to sustain a drive and rely on their defense. . .too much, sometimes. . .to win games. They will need to find some points in this one if they want to avoid a second consecutive loss.
On the other side, the Bills, boosted by quarterback Josh Allen, come in with one of the best offenses in the NFL. Their 33.3 points/game average is the best in the league, and they have not been held under 24 points in any game they have played this season. Buffalo comes into this one riding a three-game winning streak, including a 36-10 blowout victory over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 8.
The last game between these two teams was one of the most memorable regular season games in years. In 2022 at Orchard Park, the Bills took a 27-10 lead late in the third quarter, but an 81-yard touchdown run by Dalvin Cook and a touchdown run by CJ Ham pulled the Vikings within 27-23. The Vikings then drove down the field and got a miracle conversion on a 4th-and-18 on a spectacular catch by Justin Jefferson, but their efforts appeared to fall short when the Bills defense threw Kirk Cousins at the goal line on 4th-and-goal on a sneak attempt.
Amazingly, Allen tackled the exchange from center on the next play, where Eric Kendricks fell on the loose ball for an improbable Minnesota touchdown to give them the lead. Allen then led the Bills on a tying field goal as the gun sounded to force overtime. Minnesota took the lead in OT on a Greg Joseph field goal, and Patrick Peterson ended things by intercepting an Allen pass in the end zone to seal a thrilling 33-30 victory for the Vikings.
Since it’s Monday Night Football, the game will be broadcast on ESPN, with kickoff set for 7:15 PM Central time. We’ll be covering all of this right here on our stream for the week, so keep checking back here for all the latest.