The Buffalo Bills beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-6 on Monday Night Football on November 9, 2026, at a loud U.S. Bank Stadium in front of 66,955 fans. The win moved Buffalo to 7-1, which matched its best start to a season since 1993, while Minnesota fell to 6-2 and lost for the second game in a row.
While the Bills brought to the field the NFL’s best offence in terms of point production, there wasn’t much hope of seeing big plays coming from them against the Vikings’ defence playing full throttle all through the night. Rather than putting up points, the Bills had the intention to secure the win with patience and a strong commitment to rushing plays.
It is the running back, James Cook, who played the pivotal role in Buffalo’s gameplan as he rushed the ball for 31 times for 107 yards, and made a touchdown by making a 5-yard run up the middle on first-and-goal in the early minutes of the fourth quarter. Speaking after the game, Cook said that the team remained patient and kept playing until Vikings’ defence collapsed, adding that everybody knew that the game would be a physical one.
Tyler Bass made two additional field goals to increase the gap to 20-6 and 23-6 respectively in the final minutes of the game.
Josh Allan did not have to show spectacular plays. Allan completed 21 out of 31 passes for 234 yards, and had one touchdown pass and one interception. The quarterback's touchdown pass occurred 44 seconds before halftime, which gave a good start for the team entering the halftime break.
The Vikings had one interception from Allen, but the offence could not score any points on this play
However, the main issue for the Vikings was their defence. The team's quarterback, Kyler Murray, was declared unfit due to a hamstring strain, so Carson Wentz became the starting quarterback. Wentz had eight completions out of 25 passes, throwing 81 yards, with two interceptions (one of those was made by Dorian Williams). The Star Tribune said that this game was one of the poorest games of quarterbacks and offence in Vikings' history.
O'Connell ultimately benched Wentz in favor of Brosmer, whose play ultimately led to a strong series, although the Vikings turned it over on downs. This would prove to be the last offensive drive of the game for Minnesota, who failed to score a touchdown throughout the entire contest.
Unfortunately for Minnesota, the defensive effort it showed in this game went unnoticed due to how poorly the offence performed. For the majority of the game, it managed to hold the league's highest scoring attack at bay, but with the Vikings failing to move the ball and keep drives going, their defensive players were tired by the end of the game, allowing Buffalo to take control with their run game in the second half.
The Vikings will have a tough challenge ahead of them when they travel to take on the Green Bay Packers in their next game. With the uncertainty over Murray's hamstring injury and the offense completely out of sync, Minnesota must figure things out soon to prevent themselves from falling even further down the NFC North standings. The Bills, on the other hand, enter their remaining games of the regular season with the league's best record.
