The Minnesota Vikings have finally lost during the 2026 season. It took seven games, but it finally happened when they went on the road to Detroit to play the Lions.
They do not have time to dwell on it, though, as their insane gauntlet continues as they face the Buffalo Bills on Monday Night Football in primetime. Josh Allen and the Bills are humming into the game while the Vikings are scrambling for any sort of sanity on offense. Kyler Murray has struggled; the run game is not what it was early on, but the defense remains the best unit in the NFL.
As we dive deeper into looking at the game, we have some defensive keys we wanted to share for the matchup.
Contain Josh Allen
Josh Allen remains the most efficient quarterback in the NFL in terms of turning nothing into
something. Whether it be a flick pass on the run, scrambling for yards, or extending plays until coverage can't keep up. The Vikings need to make sure they are containing him, both by not letting him extend plays and by bringing him down when they do get pressure on him. If they do not, it could be a long day for the Vikings' defense.
Don't let James Cook make plays
James Cook is very much in the mold of Jahmyr Gibbs in that he is a dual-threat out of the backfield. The Lions running back had 153 yards on the ground and an additional 15 yards through the air; Cook is capable of doing that and more against the Vikings. Blake Cashman and Eric Wilson need to be on patrol in the middle of the field, and the defensive front needs to get some pushback. If they don't do either of those things, they have no chance of winning on Monday night.
Force turnovers
The Vikings need to do what they do best in Week 9, and that is force turnovers. Harrison Smith patrolling the back end needs to find a pass of Allen's, one of the cornerbacks needs to track a ball down, and maybe Andrew Van Ginkel can force a fumble or pick off a screen. Not saying all of that needs to happen, but at least two of those things should. If they win the turnover battle, they have a strong chance to make this a higher probability of winning than without them.
This article originally appeared on Vikings Wire: 3 Defensive keys for the Vikings in Week 9 against the Bills
