Yahoo Sports Staff Updated Tue, November 10, 2026 at 2:09 AM UTC About Our Ads Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In this story The Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings will close out Week 9 on "Monday Night Football," with kickoff set for 8:15 p.m. ET at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis. Both teams sit at 6-1.
The Bills have been off to another hot start with MVP quarterback Josh Allen at the helm, but he'll face his most difficult test yet against Minnesota's Brian Flores-led defense. Allen leads all quarterbacks in EPA ( expected points added ) per play, the Vikings have allowed the lowest EPA per play this season — the ultimate "unstoppable force meets an immovable object" kind of matchup.
While the Vikings have been at the top of the league defensively, they've struggled to find rhythm offensively. Veteran quarterback Carson Wentz will look to give Minnesota a spark in his second start of the season, as starter Kyler Murray is out with a hamstring injury . It's not inconceivable that Wentz could win the starting job outright with a solid performance; the Vikings are averaging just 1.71 offensive touchdowns per game this year — the fourth-fewest in the league.
Follow along with Yahoo Sports for live updates, highlights and more as the Bills and Vikings close out Week 9, airing on ABC and ESPN .
Josh Allen's under constant pressure. He was lucky to avoid a third-down sack near the goal and get rid of the ball to give Buffalo's punter room.
The Vikings have the ball back. Will they get a first down?
The Vikings still don't have a first down. Four drives have produced three 3-and-outs and a turnover. It's a shame next to this elite Minneosta defense.
Buffalo has the ball back after another Minnesota punt.
And Buffalo punts again after a 3-and-out.
The Vikings defense is doing its job, but it needs some help from its offense. The first quarter ends with Buffallo holding a 3-0 lead.
Minnesota's offense is inept in the first quarter.
Its third drive ends with its second 3-and-out. The other drive produced a turnover on the first play. Buffalo has the ball back late in the first quarter.
Here's another look at that Carson Wentz lateral. ESPN's Russell Yurk with a key note — if it doesn't go forward it's a lateral. It doesn't have to go backward.
They didn't get into the end zone. But after their second first-quarter drive to start in Vikings territory, the Bills are on the board.
A Tyler Bass field goal is good from 39 yards for a 3-0 Bills lead late in the first. Can Carson Wentz and Minnesota's offense get anything going in response?
Carson Wentz threw a lateral that Justin Jefferson couldn't handle. The Bills recovered and have the ball right back one play after Byron Murphy's interception.
The play was ruled a forward pass on the field, but Buffalo challenged, and officials ruled that it was, indeed, a lateral instead of a forward pass.
Minnesota's defense is winning the early battle of elite units against Buffalo's offense.
After a 3-and-out to start the game, Buffalo's second drive ends with an interception of Josh Allen by Vikings cornerback Byron Murphy .
Allen targeted D.J. Moore on a deep ball into the end zone from midfield. But three Vikings defenders were there in coverage. Murphy picked the pass off and returned it 54 to the Vikings 47.
The Bills have the ball right back. The Vikings responded with their own 3-and-out, and Buffalo will have its second possesion of the night after a punt.
Buffalo's offense started its first possession at the Minnesota 36-yard line. Three plays later if finished that possession at the Vikings 47.
A third-down sack of Josh Allen by Dallas Turner forced a punt, and Carson Wentz is on the field with the Minnesota offense.
The Bills won the toss and opted to receive the opening kickoff.
The decision paid off via a 57-yard kickoff return from Greg Dortch to start the Buffalo offense in Vikings territory.
The Vikings have struggled on offense with Kyler Murray at quarterback, averaging 18.4 points per game in his five starts.
Carson Wentz gets the start tonight as Murray sits with a hamstring injury. The Vikings scored 39 and 9 points in his two starts in Weeks 1 and 2. Which version of Wentz and the Minnesota offense will show up against the Bills?
Could we get to see our first snaps for Odell Beckham Jr. in a Vikings uniform on Monday night? Potentially.
Minnesota activated the veteran receiver for Week 9's "Monday Night Football" matchup against the Buffalo Bills.
Beckham originally signed with the Vikings' practice squad in early October and was elevated for the team's Week 5 showdown with the New Orleans Saints, but he did not play any offensive snaps.
He remains catchless this season after commanding just one target over three games with the New York Giants to start the season.
The 2026 NFC North looks like a division that could send all four teams to the playoffs. It's deep from top to bottom. Even though the Vikings are 6-1, they can't feel safe with the Bears, Packers and Lions all playing well.
The Bills also will be pushed in the AFC East by the Patriots, but New England lost on Sunday and is three games behind Buffalo in the loss column. Both 6-1 teams are in good shape even with a loss, and will look even stronger with a win.
Because of the Vikings' competition within their division — and to a lesser extent, their quest to get the respect of being a legitimate Super Bowl contender — Minnesota needs it a little more.
Read more from Yahoo Sports' "Monday Night Football" preview .
Like a game of "Battleship," if you call the right number, big plays can be found against the Vikings defense, catching them on a coverage break on an all-out blitz. If Allen strikes on a few of those, he won't need to accumulate pass completions, in the same way Jordan Love and Baker Mayfield clicked on exactly 50% of their pass attempts when facing this unit.
The Lions used a strategy of running right at Minnesota with 34 total carries between Jahmyr Gibbs and Sione Vaki.
Of course, Allen could use his legs to try to make the Vikings pay for not getting all the way home, as well.
Add in that the Vikings could have some decent time of possession against the Bills defense, and we can only envision Allen going over this number if he's compelled to throw close to 40 times — an unlikely game script.
Check out the rest of our favorite bets for Bills vs. Vikings in Week 9 .
With less than 90 minutes remaining until the Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings kick off, each team has announced its inactives for Week 9.
Source: Sports
