The Buffalo Bills and Minnesota Vikings have been playing football against each other since 1971. But in more than five decades, they’ve met just 15 times.
Minnesota holds a 9-6 advantage in the all-time series, although Buffalo has won four of the past six meetings. And, while there aren’t a whole lot of games to choose from, there are certainly a few worth remembering.
There’s the afternoon Drew Bledsoe threw for more than 400 yards. The day a rookie Josh Allen introduced himself to the NFL by hurdling
a linebacker. And, of course, there’s that game in 2022 that Bills fans would probably rather forget.
So, before Allen heads back to Minnesota, we’re opening the Time Capsule to revisit five of the more memorable meetings between the Bills and Vikings, starting with a comeback in 1982.
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1982 — A comeback worth remembering
The Minnesota Vikings had a 19-0 lead over Buffalo on Sept. 16, 1982, and every reason to think they had the game under control. Joe Ferguson, however, had other plans. The Bills offense was a little late to the party, but it was about to make up for lost time.
Ferguson threw for 330 yards and three touchdowns as Buffalo rallied for a 23-22 win. He got the Bills on the scoreboard with a 6-yard touchdown pass to Frank Lewis before halftime, then connected with Jerry Butler for a 4-yard score in the third quarter.
Minnesota still held a 22-13 lead heading into the fourth, but a 21-yard field goal from Nick Mike-Mayer brought Buffalo within six. Ferguson and Butler connected again, this time from 11 yards out, and Mike-Mayer’s extra point gave the Bills the win.
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2002 — An overtime shootout
The Bills and Vikings combined for 78 points on Sept. 15, 2002, and somehow needed extra time and another six points to find a winner.
Drew Bledsoe threw for a franchise-record 463 yards, but Buffalo needed a little last-second magic just to get the game into overtime. The Bills had taken a 36-32 lead on Bledsoe’s 3-yard touchdown pass to Peerless Price with 3:08 remaining, only for Minnesota to answer with a touchdown of its own and go ahead 39-36 with 26 seconds left.
Bledsoe got Buffalo into position for a Mike Hollis 54-yard field goal as regulation expired. Then Bledsoe and Price delivered the finish. The two connected on a 48-yard touchdown pass to give Buffalo a 45-39 win.
And those weren’t even the only fireworks. Charlie Rogers returned a kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown, and defensive tackle Ron Edwards recovered a fumble in the end zone for another Buffalo score. It was the kind of afternoon when just about everything seemed possible. And, not surprisingly, Bledsoe’s 463 passing yards remain the franchise’s single-game record – but maybe don’t tell Josh Allen.
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2014 — A last-second escape
Buffalo needed every last second of its Oct. 19, 2014, meeting with Minnesota, and Kyle Orton made sure none of them went to waste.
Trailing 16-10 with less than three minutes remaining, Orton took over at his own 20-yard line and began an 80-yard drive that nearly ended before it could reach midfield. Facing fourth-and-20, Orton found tight end Scott Chandler for 24 yards to keep Buffalo’s hopes alive.
An 18-yard completion to Sammy Watkins on third-and-12 kept the drive moving, and a 28-yard pass to Chris Hogan put the Bills at the Minnesota 2-yard line. With just one second remaining, Orton found Watkins in the end zone for the tying touchdown. Dan Carpenter’s extra point gave Buffalo a 17-16 win.
It wasn’t the cleanest afternoon for the Bills, who committed four turnovers, but they managed to save their best drive for last.
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2018 — The rookie nobody saw coming
The Bills arrived in Minnesota on Sept. 23, 2018, as 16.5-point underdogs. They left with a 27-6 win, and the NFL had its first real glimpse of what Josh Allen could do.
Making just his second career start, Allen scored three touchdowns in the first half, running for two and throwing a 26-yard touchdown pass to Jason Croom. Buffalo scored on its first five possessions, building a 27-0 halftime lead while holding Minnesota to just 46 yards of offense before the break.
But the play everyone remembers wasn’t a touchdown.
Facing third-and-9, Allen scrambled toward the sideline and, rather than going around Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr, decided to go over him. The rookie quarterback hurdled Barr, picked up the first down, and produced one of the earliest signature highlights of his career.
It was Allen’s first NFL win, and that hurdle gave everyone a little preview of what was coming. Eight years later, jumping over defenders has become just another day at the office for Buffalo’s quarterback.
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2022 — The one that got away
The Bills and Vikings had a little extra history going into their Nov. 13, 2022, meeting. Buffalo had sent its 2020 first-round pick to Minnesota in the trade for Stefon Diggs, and the Vikings used that pick to select Justin Jefferson. Both receivers had become stars, and fans on both sides were still arguing over who won the trade.
Jefferson certainly gave Buffalo fans something to talk about that afternoon. He finished with 193 receiving yards, including an unbelievable one-handed catch over Cam Lewis on fourth-and-18. Diggs wasn’t exactly quiet, either, hauling in 12 passes for 128 yards.
But the receivers weren’t the only ones putting on a show. Buffalo led 27-10 late in the third quarter before Dalvin Cook brought a little sibling rivalry into the mix. With his younger brother on the opposite sideline, Cook broke loose for an 81-yard touchdown run that helped spark Minnesota’s comeback.
And then things got weird.
With less than a minute remaining, Buffalo stopped Minnesota on fourth-and-goal at the 1-yard line. The Bills had the lead, the ball, and what looked like a win. Instead, Allen fumbled the snap, and Eric Kendricks recovered in the end zone to put Minnesota ahead.
Allen wasn’t finished, though. With just 41 seconds remaining, he moved Buffalo downfield to set up Tyler Bass for a 29-yard field goal that forced overtime. Minnesota took a 33-30 lead on a field goal in the extra frame, but the Bills still had one more chance to win it. Allen drove Buffalo into the red zone before Patrick Peterson intercepted his pass, bringing the wild afternoon to an end.
The Bills had led by 17 points, survived Jefferson’s ridiculous catch, and made a goal-line stand that should have ended it. Somehow, they still lost.
Four years later, this one probably hasn’t gotten any easier for Bills fans to watch.
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These two teams go years between meetings, so it’s no surprise they pack each one with as many memorable moments as possible.
Monday night isn’t likely to be any different. There will probably be plenty to talk about afterward. Let’s just hope it’s more of the Allen-leaping-tall-buildings variety than the nightmare-before-Thanksgiving variety.
