The Bills shocked the world Sunday afternoon. In a game that most people thought would be a bust in Minneapolis, Buffalo ended up destroying the Vikings 27-6.
Coming out of halftime, CBS sideline reporter Tracy Wolfson relayed a comment from Mike Zimmer in which the Vikings coach looked up at one point during the first half and said, "Oh my god, it's 27 to nothing..."
It was indeed, coach. The Buffalo Bills traveled to Minnesota as a huge underdog and proceeded to dominate the Vikings in all three phases. The Bills D confounded Kirk Cousins through two quarters, sacking the QB three times, forcing two fumbles, allowed just 46 total yards, two first downs and did not allow Minnesota to cross the 50-yard-line until the third quarter. Buffalo's offense made Zimmer's defense look like it was the NFC Championship, dicing up the Vikings through the air.
The future showed up for Buffalo. Josh Allen played like his hair was on fire early, making heady plays, throwing darts, and using his feet when necessary to baffle the Vikings defense. Credit the Bills coaching staff for giving the rookie quarterback a bevy of quick throws early to get Allen in a groove and aid a struggling offensive line. Playing sans LeSean McCoy, Buffalo supplemented the ground game with short strikes and screens. Allen maneuvered in the pocket well in the first half and made the correct read time after time.
The quarterback showed poise on several throws out of the pocket, including finding Chris Ivory on a rollout for a 55-yard catch and run. Allen finished 15-of-22 for 196 yards, 8.9 yards per attempt, one TD throw, a QB rating of 111.2 and two rushing scores. His numbers would have been better had Bills receivers not dropped several passes, including an Allen deep dime that slid through the hands of Robert Foster.
Sunday was a reminder that NFL games aren't played on paper. Despite the low expectations for a Buffalo squad that was walloped the first two weeks, the Bills came to play. Minnesota sleepwalked. The results were evident.
