By Nick Wojton / Billswire.usatoday.com
The Buffalo Bills will face their first NFC opponent of the 2018 schedule as they’ll head to Minnesota to take on the NFC North’s Vikings.
The Vikings, who went through some massive changes in the offseason, are off to a hot start despite not having a completely unblemished record at 1-0-1.
With that, here are six things to know about Sunday’s opponent, the Vikings:
New QB in town
Kirk Cousins was the prized free agent of the 2018 offseason and he landed with the Vikings. He nabbed a three-year contract that’s worth $84 million and guaranteed. He’s off to a good start as his team averages the fifth-best passing attack (319.5 yards per game) through the first two weeks.
Cousins can spread it around, too. Adam Thielen had 12 grabs for 131 yards and a score last week while Stefon Diggs had nine grabs for 128 yards and two touchdowns. The Bills’ secondary had an awful first six quarterbacks of the season, allowing 10 touchdowns in the red zone. However, in the second half against the Philip Rivers-led Chargers, Buffalo’s defense held them to a field goal. Will that momentum carry over and force the Vikings to try to feed running back Dalvin Cook who only had 38 yards last week? Much easier said than done.
Scary defense
The defense for the Minnesota Vikings is littered with stars which led the team deep to the postseason last year. The secondary is highlighted by All-Pro’s Harrison Smith and Xavier Rhodes. Those two roam the field knowing Everson Griffen and Sheldon Richardson will be facing a suspect Bills’ offensive line in front of them.
Linebackers Eric Kendricks and Anthony Barr aren’t bad, either. This is the same unit that finished last season as the top-rated defense in the NFL. Not an easy test for a rookie quarterback making his first-career road start in Josh Allen.
Super Bowl favorite
So as the last two sections indicate, the Vikings are good on offense. The Vikings are also good on defense. That, combined being the first team to nearly make a Super Bowl which was hosted in their hometown last year, gives Minnesota some good odds in the eyes of Las Vegas.
According to OddsShark on Tuesday, the Vikings are tied with the Jacksonville Jaguars for the third-best odds to win the Super Bowl this season at +900. Only the Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots have better odds at +650.
For those wondering, OddsShark has the Bills with the outright worst odds as Buffalo sits alone in the base with +50000 odds.
Comeback kids
Nobody circles the wagons like the… Minnesota Vikings? That’s what happened last week in their 29-29 tie against the Green Bay Packers. Minnesota scored 22 fourth-quarter points on the Pack en route to their eventual tie.
All three were passes from Cousins and he had four total touchdowns in the game. But the Vikings might not need to worry about that type of comeback against Buffalo if the Bills don’t come ready to play. Buffalo has allowed two touchdowns in the first quarter the past two weeks.
New kicker
As prior mentioned, the Vikings should actually be undefeated. Instead, kicker Daniel Carlson missed not one, not two, but three kicks. Of those three, two were in overtime. The fifth-round pick from Auburn was quickly cut. Former long-time Dallas Cowboys Dan Bailey will be making his first appearance as Minnesota’s kicker against the Bills on Sunday.
But the kickers weren’t the only ones that struggled last week, the punter did as well as Matt Wile had a kick blocked.The Bills will likely need some special teams luck if they’re going to pull off this huge upset.
Sweet chant
Maybe it’s no “shout song,” but it is pretty cool. Made famous by the Icelandic soccer team during the European championships in 2016, Vikings fans just kind of borrowed it soon after when they moved to their new home, U.S. Bank Stadium.