Bills Beat Vikings 23-6 on Monday Night Football as Wentz Is Picked Off Twice and Buffalo Starts 7-1
Buffalo held Minnesota to 178 yards and six points at U.S. Bank Stadium, with James Cook running for 107 yards, while Carson Wentz filled in for the injured Kyler Murray.
Tuesday, November 10, 2026/2 min read
The Buffalo Bills left Minneapolis on Monday night with the easiest kind of win, the one that never felt in doubt after halftime. They beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-6 at U.S. Bank Stadium, and the Vikings never found the end zone, according to ESPN.
The result moves Buffalo to 7-1, its best eight-game start since 1993, and drops Minnesota to 6-2 after a second straight loss. It was the game our Monday preview framed around one question: what would the Vikings offense look like with Carson Wentz in for the injured Kyler Murray?
How did the Bills win Monday Night Football?
They owned the ball. ESPN has Buffalo with 42 minutes and 32 seconds of possession, and James Cook carried 31 times for 107 yards and a late touchdown. Josh Allen was 21 of 31 for 234 yards, one touchdown and one interception, ESPN reported.
The scoring was modest and steady. Buffalo led 3-0 after one quarter, 10-6 at halftime and 13-6 after three. Tyler Bass kicked three field goals, including a 52-yarder to close the scoring, and extended his franchise-record streak to 24 straight, per ESPN. DAZN recorded Allen's only touchdown pass, a 25-yarder to Keleki Latu with 44 seconds left in the first half, as Latu's first in the NFL, and Cook's five-yard run in the fourth quarter as the end of a 15-play, 84-yard drive.
What went wrong for the Vikings and Carson Wentz?
Murray was out with a hamstring injury, so Wentz started. He completed 8 of 25 passes for 81 yards, ESPN said, and had three turnovers, including a lost fumble near midfield after a backward pass. DAZN put his passer rating at 8.9 and noted two interceptions, by Dorian Williams and Terrel Bernard. Wentz was also checked in the medical tent for an apparent lower-leg injury, and Max Brosmer replaced him midway through the fourth quarter. ESPN did not say how serious the injury is.
Minnesota finished with 178 total yards, and DAZN reported that the Vikings converted none of their eight third downs. Justin Jefferson was targeted 11 times and caught three passes for 58 yards, ESPN reported. The defence kept the score close for a half, helped by an Allen interception that Byron Murphy Jr. returned 55 yards, according to DAZN, and by four sacks of Allen. Then it spent too long on the field. DAZN counted the Vikings defence at 42:32 against 17:28 for Buffalo's.
What is next for the Bills and Vikings?
Both teams play on the road on Sunday, ESPN said: Buffalo at the New York Jets, Minnesota at Green Bay. For the Bills, a fourth straight win keeps them at the top of the AFC conversation. For the Vikings, the questions are whether Murray returns from the hamstring injury and whether Wentz is healthy enough to be the fallback if he does not. Neither team has said, in the reports available on Tuesday morning.
Published in The Outspoken Digest
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