The Bills have the PERFECT opportunity...

The Buffalo Bills have another huge matchup on deck as they try to maintain their spot atop the AFC. This week, the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night. in Minnesota. These two teams are polar opposites of each other. The number one offense versus the number one defense and also a bad offense versus a bad defense. Which team will come out on top? We are going to break that all down today and joining me in helping us sort out what is going on in this game, we've got Griffin from Vikings Digest. Griffin, welcome in to Bill's Digest. How are you doing today? I'm doing great. I feel good. We just did a duo on Vikings and it went really well and I'm really excited to get going on this game preview because this is going to be a very big game and I'm very happy to be here. It's great to finally get acquainted with you after some talks of over the past couple of months. Now we finally get to make this happen as we finally get this matchup that we've all been waiting for where these two teams are going to try and establish themselves as really contenders in their respective conferences. Yeah well thank you Griffin for joining me here today breaking this all down. Welcome in and welcome in the rest of you to Bills Digest. I'm Ben Volker and here at Bills Digest we've got you covered with all things related to the Buffalo Bills so if you don't want to miss a thing. Go ahead, hit subscribe, and so that you can stay up to date on all Bills content just like this. We are less than 300 subscribers away from 3,000 on the channel, and we are trying to hit that goal by the NFL trade deadline. So if you want to help us out, hit subscribe. It means a lot. And Griffin, let me just get started here with a pulse check. How are you feeling about the Vikings' chances against the Bills on Monday night? So it's not looking optimistic, I would say, just because, you know, we've had some rough stretches over the past couple of games, I would say, and we're going into a very tough stretch over the next couple of games where we just had the Lions, we got the Bills, we got the Niners, we got the Packers, we got the Falcons with Bijan Robinson being an absolute terror. So you can't take them very lightly just because of that alone. And with the offensive struggles over the past couple of weeks, really had me very, very worried about what the state of this team is going to be. By the trade deadline, are they going to make an upgrade at quarterback? Are they going to upgrade a running back? Are they going to bring in an offensive lineman, a defensive lineman? There are so many holes that Minnesota is going to need to fill or to at least address to kind of fortify if they want to be really contenders for the rest of this year. Yeah, well, we'll break down what is going on with this Bills-Vikings game. Who has the edge here? But first, I got to let you guys know that today's video is sponsored by Kalshi. And on Kalshi, you are trading directly against other users, not the house like traditional sportsbooks. You're buying yes or no contracts on the outcome of events across sports, politics, or even the weather. For example, right now on Kalshi, here is what we are looking at. Of course, we're taking a look at this Bills. Vikings matchup. Kalshi's giving the Bills a 62% chance to win. I know Griffin's shaking his head over there. He is firmly in the Vikings camp. And if there's one player that I am looking at in this game to have a big game, it is James Cook. We will talk more about why that is a little bit later. But I think that James Cook is going to have... Over 100 rushing yards in this contest. It's only a 35% chance on Kalshi right now. And if you place just $25, you could win $71 in return. That's pretty good. So if you are interested in trying out Kalshi, you can use the link in the description, trade $25 with Code Digest NFL, and get $55 added to your account instantly. Thank you once again to Kalshi for sponsoring today's video. And all right, Griffin, if we're going to talk about Vikings-Bills, let's start by throwing it back to 2022, the last time these two teams matched up against each other. It was kind of a similar situation to right now, both two very good teams meeting in November, trying to establish their place in their conference. And we got treated to an instant classic between the Vikings and Bills. I'm sure many Bills fans remember this one, the Justin Jefferson. Fourth and 18 circus catches burned into my mind. I'm sure it's burned into your mind as well. Griffin, in this contest, Justin Jefferson went absolutely ballistic. You can see his stats from that game here. A hundred and nine. 193 yards on 10 receptions and one touchdown. And so far this year, he's been a little bit quieter than those numbers with Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz, I suppose, also in this offense. You can see his numbers here. Griffin, at one point in time, people thought that Justin Jefferson was QB proof. Can we still say that at this point in his career? Or is that narrative starting to turn around Justin Jefferson and what is going on in Minnesota with him this year? I think the narrative was starting to turn a little bit last year with the way that J.J. McCarthy was playing. Then you had Max Brosmer thrown in there. Carson Wentz was able to move the ball a little bit. This year, Carson Wentz wasn't really targeting Justin Jefferson as much in the game that he was playing, but still was able to get some production at least out of it. But again, I think Justin Jefferson, like any wide receiver, I don't think any wide receiver is QB proof. I think there's very few in the NFL history that are QB proof. And this is just further evidence of that with how Justin Jefferson performed this year. And yes, you bring up that Bills game where that 4-18 catch, probably the best catch in the history of the NFL. I don't care what anyone says. When you think about the context, the situation, what needed to happen, and Kirk Cousins just placing it perfectly for the catch alone, it's a very good memory in my book. I know it's not in your book, but as far as where it takes a turn in my book is that Kirk Cousins was the one throwing that pass. Right now. We're in a spot where we could really use a guy like Kirk Cousins to get Justin Jefferson the ball, to be that deep threat and just be an absolute monster where we're seeing those 10 catches, 193 yards per game, just on the regular where Kirk Cousins knows how to sling that rock and he's able to get it to Justin Jefferson. We saw that in the past. Now it's just a matter of how can we see that a little bit more out of Kyler Murray or Carson Wentz, depending on who is getting the start on Monday night. Yeah, and it's funny you mentioned Kirk Cousins because the Bills saw him just a few weeks ago now that he's in Las Vegas. And actually, funny enough, the Bills won that game 33-30, just like this game right here. That's kind of been the Bills' style of football this year. They put up a ton of points. The offense that they're playing also puts up a ton of points, but the Bills find a way to outscore their opponent. That has not been the Vikings' style of football, though, this year as they have the best Defense in the league, led, of course, by a player that I think is very underrated in this league, in Dallas Turner. Griffin, give us the assessment on Dallas Turner and this Vikings defense as a whole. What do us Bills fans need to look out for in this defense? I mean, he's an absolute unit. I mean, we went into this, Vikings fans went into this year knowing that Dallas Turner was going to take a massive leap forward because for the past two years, he's been a Ferrari locked up in the garage while Jonathan Grenard has been that main edge rusher on the depth chart. And when Dallas Turner was getting his opportunities, he was shining like crazy where he was getting to the quarterback, getting forced fumbles. Last year when Jonathan Grenard got hurt and Dallas Turner had to start for only the last quarter of the season, He was tied for fourth place in the NFL in forced fumbles. He had four of them during that stretch and then also had a lot of sacks to go with it. Then you look at this year, he's picking up right where he left off where Kevin O'Connell, Brian Flores, they all warned us that, hey, Dallas Turner's gonna have a huge year this year. Me personally, I went and I even had a prediction of him being defensive player of the year all the way back in August and it's looking better and better every single week. I know that Lions game was a little bit of an outlier. But I still think this is a guy that is an absolute unit. He knows how to get mismatches. He knows how to get to the quarterbacks. And when he gets sacks, it is absolutely beautiful. You look at that Tyson Bajent sack where it was just so dramatic. You look at the one that he got as well on Daniel Jones a couple weeks ago. And on Jared Goff, too, where there was some that they had that were pretty circus-like. It's just been like a beautiful work of art every single time that Dallas Turner makes a big play. So he's definitely going to be a very big factor in this game. And I think that him and Greg Russo are the two best edge rushers right now in the NFL. So I think that with these guys going at it, it's going to be a very interesting game and a matchup between, like you said, two polar opposites that have entirely different narratives around them where. You look at the Bills. They have the number one offense, but one of the worst defenses. They're praised as one of the top teams in the NFL week in and week out. Then you look at the Minnesota Vikings. Same thing on defense where we're number one in the NFL, but one of the worst offenses. Yeah, we're maligned and put down in this like in media hell almost as far as how we're portrayed or how our season is kind of looking when we're basically the same as the Bills right now, where the fraud test is very, very high as far as both of these squads. And this game is going to be a very big indication of which one is the real fraud. Yeah, it'll be interesting to see where the water line ends up. Will it be a high scoring game? Will it be a low scoring game? Or will it be somewhere in the middle? That remains to be seen. But the biggest question, I think, for the Vikings coming into this game is who is going to be starting at quarterback. We don't have an official injury report for either team just yet. But here's the latest on what we know about Kyler Murray. Adam Schefter reporting this morning that Kyler Murray's status with a hamstring injury is up in the air for Week 9 at best, which sounds like the Vikings are trending towards Carson Wentz starting on. Monday night. Griffin, as a Vikings fan that has seen every single game this year, you've seen all of Carson Wentz's snaps. You've seen all of Kyler Murray's snaps. Which quarterback do you prefer to have in there? Because I know there's a little bit of quarterback controversy in Minnesota. Yeah, you're going to make me say it, aren't you? I'm going to have to go with Carson Wentz at this particular point. Even though I don't love saying it, I do like what I've seen more out of Carson Wentz. In the little flashes that we've had, I know that that Chicago game is a little bit of a wash because of the weather. But at this point, I'm willing to say, all right, if Kyler isn't 100%, if he's going into this game where it's a game time decision and it's 90 minutes before kickoff and he's just out, he's suddenly ready to go. I don't really have a ton of confidence in that. But if it's a situation where it's Carson Wentz, where he's already had a week of practicing with some ones and getting really good work in, I feel really confident in being able to have somewhat of a production out of Carson Wentz. I don't think Minnesota is going to win this game at all, really. But I think that if you have Carson Wentz in there, you at least have a better chance of winning just because of the way that he can throw the ball. And yes, I know with the passing yards per game and almost every single stat line, Kyler Murray is doing a lot better. However, I think with Carson Wentz, he can be a little bit more accurate. His decision-making is a little bit better and as well as being able to be tall enough to see over those linemen to make those throws. As even though with Kyler Murray, Tell one story, but the snaps and the game tape tell an entirely different one as well. Or yes, he's been accurate somewhat. He hasn't been turning the ball over. There's been good moments. However, when it comes to his reads and his progressions and the off-target throws, it's been really, really bad. And that is something that is really kind of worth addressing, worth keeping in mind if you're going to try and say, yeah, Kyler Murray easily over Carson Wentz. Kind of have to think about that a little bit. Oh yeah, for sure. I'm sure. You would rather neither of these options if you are the Vikings, but one of them is going to start on Monday night. It is just a matter of who, but in the meantime, all we can do is look at the past game that the Vikings played, and they were handed their first loss of the season in a 19-15 loss to the Detroit Lions, and I think this is very interesting because I think this gives us a little preview of how this Bills game might go because I think the Bills and the Lions Lions are built very... similar similarly to one another. The only difference I think is that the Bills have a better quarterback in there and I do think that is going to make the difference but in this game Jahmyr Gibbs ran all over that mighty Vikings defense and really showed a major flaw in this Vikings defense. 153 yards one touchdown he showed what he is capable of as what is probably the best running back in the league. But the Vikings have another tough test with James Cook coming into town. He's not as good as Jameer Gibbs, but he is a premier running back in this league. So Griffin, I've got one more question for you. How do the Vikings shut down James Cook and get a bounce back performance from their defense against the run? It's going to be very tough because, I mean, Jameer Gibbs, in my opinion, he's the best running back in the NFL and him running all over the Vikings isn't necessarily anything new. If you've been like, if you've watched the Vikings versus Lions over the past couple of years, where that game in 2024, where he had three touchdowns, just went absolutely nuts. The only time we really bottled them up was last year on Christmas. And that was kind of an outlier kind of game because that was a very wacky game and a Christmas miracle for the Vikings. But when you look at this year. They've been bottling up running backs for the most part, but that Jahmyr Gibbs game just absolutely killed us. And it's also been back-to-back weeks where Minnesota has been torched by an RB2. You look at the Colts game. McGowan ran all over Minnesota with 11 rushing attempts and he had like 40 or 60 yards. Then you look at last week, Vaki, he also had a really good game. So I can see the Bills really going with a run-heavy approach here where they're going to treat Josh Allen like a second running back almost. And you're going to see James Cook and Josh Allen just run very, very heavy. That's also why I think it's going to be a very low-scoring game, similar to that Lions game a week ago, just because Buffalo sees, all right, their pass rush is really good. We can trust in Josh to be able to roll it out and scramble if he has to. However, their biggest weakness is the run defense. So if we can scheme a game plan where it's designed quarterback runs and just feeding James Cook and giving him the carries that he's due for, that is going to be a very big problem for Minnesota. And that is why, unless it's just broken loose as far as massive runs left, right, and center, I can see it being a low-scoring game, but a high-yardage rushing game for both teams. Oh, yeah, I completely agree with that assessment. And actually, that brings us to our last point. We want to hear from you guys. What do you think is going to happen in this Monday night matchup? Who will win on Monday night? Do you think it's the Bills? Do you think it's the Vikings? Leave your score predictions in the comments. And we will give our score predictions as well. We'll start with you, Griffin. How do you think this game is going to shake up ultimately? I think if it leans towards the Bills side of things. It'll be a blowout. It'll be like a 33 to 13 kind of game where Carson Wentz throws two picks and the Bills defense actually looks like they can stop a team for once. I think that'll be one scenario. If Minnesota wins this game, it'll be like a 20 to 19 or a 20 to 17 kind of defensive bloodbath where it'll be Minnesota's offense not being able to move and Brian Flores and his defense just actually cooking. But again, it's going to be a matter of which Josh Allen's going to show up. Is it going to be the Josh Allen that turns the ball over? Is it going to be the Josh Allen that just plays like an MVP? So that is going to be a very big factor. And of course, for the Vikings, who's going to be the quarterback? You don't know with that. But I think that if Minnesota wins, it's going to be a gutsy one to three point kind of win where it's going to be low scoring 20 to 19, 20 to 17. But if it goes the Bills way, I can see it being a 33 to 13 kind of blowout. Uh, yeah. So I think that the Bills are not going to score 30 points this game. They've been putting up insane numbers. The Vikings defense, they are legit though. I would be very shocked if the Bills crack the 30 point mark in this one. With that said though, I do think that this Bills defense is starting to finally turn a corner. They've looked more like the defense that Jim Leonard wants them to be in that Ravens game. Yes, granted, it was an emergency third string Backup rookie undrafted quarterback that they were not planning for. Yes, that has something to do with it too, but they still looked very good. And I think regardless of who is playing in Minnesota Monday night, I think that the defense is going to prove that they are better than the numbers indicate. So I'm taking the Bills in this one. I'm going to go with a score of, let's say, 27-17. 10-point win for the Bills. But that is all the time that we have for here on Bill's Digest today. Thank you, Griffin, once again for coming in and talking about this Viking Games with us as well. As he mentioned, we did do a video over on Vikings Digest, so make sure to check that out as well. As always, thanks for watching, and of course, go Bills!