Vikings Offense Trips All Over Itself to Embarrassing 23-6 Loss vs. Bills

Vikings Offense Trips All Over Itself to Embarrassing 23-6 Loss vs. Bills Josh Frey | Published : Nov 10, 2026 Follow Us Facebook Twitter Reddit WhatsApp Email Copy Link Copy Link Link Copied A comedy of errors. A colossus catastrophe. An unmitigated disaster. A biblical blunder. Those are just a few phrases that come to mind when describing the Minnesota Vikings offense’s performance on Monday night against the Buffalo Bills. Coming into the game 6-1, Minnesota had just suffered their first loss of the season against the Detroit Lions and hoped to correct their momentum heading into the second half of the schedule and ahead of the trade deadline. Instead, they did the exact opposite. It’s hard to imagine a 6-2 team having a bleaker outlook than what the Vikings have given themselves over the past 8 days. An Inexplicable Abandoning of the Running Game A struggling running game has been a common theme throughout Kevin O’Connell’s tenure as Vikings head coach. Monday night was different though. The running game was completely abandoned for large portions of the game. Despite the game being separated by seven or fewer points throughout the entire first half, the Vikings ran the football just five times. They totaled 18 yards on the ground. That abandoning of the running game was at least partially responsible for five of their seven drives lasting fewer than five plays. But here’s the most infuriating thing about the gameplan. After an interception on the opening drive of the second half, the Vikings actually did commit to the run for a good chunk of the their second drive… and it worked! Jordan Mason rattled off an 8-yard run, an 11-yard run, and a five-yard run on three consecutive plays. Then, on the first pass of the drive with the Vikings in Buffalo territory, Carson Wentz threw another interception. The Vikings would run the ball just one more time over the remaining 19 minutes of gameplay. They finished the day with Jones and Mason, two players combining for $16 million against the salary cap this year, running the ball a combined 11 times. This happened in a game that was separated by one possession for the first 54ish minutes. Compare that to Buffalo’s 44 carries over the course of the game, and it’s no wonder why the Vikings only held onto the ball for 17 minutes and 28 seconds. A Mirror Image of Week 8 This blueprint is almost exactly the same way the Vikings fell to the Detroit Lions last weekend. Just like tonight, the Vikings and Lions sat in a one-possession margin for quite literally the entire game, and yet the Vikings ran the football with Jones and Mason just 13 times for 42 yards. It was 11 carries for 51 yards tonight. It’d be one thing if they had a QB who was performing well, but neither Kyler Murray or Carson Wentz have inspired enough confidence to give them full reign of the offense. Murray was 17/29 for 210 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception last week. Wentz was 8/25 for 81 yards and two interceptions tonight. Meanwhile, both the Bills and Lions used the strategy of allowing the Vikings offense to trip over themselves while continuing to push against the brick wall of that Vikings defense until cracks inevitably started to show in the second half. Buffalo ran the ball 44 times tonight; Detroit ran the ball 39 times last weekend. Buffalo held onto the ball for over 44 minutes tonight; Detroit had it for 35 minutes. The blueprint has been laid out on how to beat this Vikings team despite fielding a generational defense. Now, it’s on the Vikings to respond and not let teams beat them that way. Trade Deadline Looms Now, the question must be answered: are the Vikings comfortable making their bed with the roster they’ve put together, or do they go get more ammo at the trade deadline? Here’s the problem: is there a player out there that fixes this team’s problems right now? Moreso, how much draft capital is the front office willing to give up at this point in the season? Keep in mind, Nolan Teasley wasn’t in the building when the majority of the decisions behind this team were made over the course of the offseason. Is he content to let things ride out through 2026 and restock next offseason through free agency (a projected $36.2 million in cap space ) and the draft (projected 10 picks)? Some have floated daydreams of a Kirk Cousins reunion or acquiring Geno Smith from the Jets, but do either of those names make a difference for an offense that has been not just below average, but the absolute worst in the league through the first half of the season? I have my doubts. If I were to guess, I think it’s a quiet deadline for the Vikings, and we’ll see what happens the rest of the way. Regardless, over the past eight days, the Vikings have gone from the best record in football to fighting to stay out of the cellar in the NFC North. Sunday’s matchup in Green Bay is an exceptionally important one. We’ll see what this roster looks like when they arrive. Editor’s Note: Information from ESPN and Over the Cap helped with this article. Discover more from Vikings Territory Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email. Type your email… Subscribe By Josh Frey Josh Frey is a senior writer at both PurplePTSD.com and VikingsTerritory.com, with a fascination for the NFL Draft. To ... More about Josh Frey