Monday Night Football: 6-1 Bills at 6-1 Vikings, the League's Best Offense Against Its Best Defense
Week 9 closes with the matchup the schedule saved for last: Buffalo's 33.3-points-a-game offense against a Minnesota defense allowing 13.3, with Carson Wentz starting for the injured Kyler Murray and Adrian Peterson going into the Vikings Ring of Honor at halftime.
MINNEAPOLIS — The NFL saved its best Week 9 matchup for Monday night. The Buffalo Bills (6-1) visit the Minnesota Vikings (6-1) at U.S. Bank Stadium tonight at 7:15 p.m. Central on ABC and ESPN, in a meeting of the league's highest-scoring offense and its stingiest defense.
Buffalo averages 33.3 points per game, the most in football, and arrives on a three-game winning streak behind Josh Allen, who comes into the night as the MVP favourite. Minnesota allows 13.3 points per game, the fewest in football — a defense no opponent has solved, though the previews note it can be run on, which is where Allen and the Bills' ground game aim to test it.
The Vikings' problem is on the other side of the ball. Minnesota lost for the first time this season last week, 19-15 to Detroit, and it will start Carson Wentz at quarterback for the second time this season: Kyler Murray has been ruled out with a hamstring strain. Wentz's assignment is to keep the chains moving against a Buffalo defense that has given up 30 points or more four times this year.
Halftime carries its own ceremony: Adrian Peterson will be inducted into the Vikings Ring of Honor, becoming its 29th member. The winner leaves Monday night at 7-1 and alone in the week's final word; the Sports Desk files the final within 45 minutes of the whistle on the game-night cycle.
