Week 9 closes in Minnesota, as the NFL’s highest-scoring offense takes on the league’s best defense on ‘Monday Night Football.’
Channel the cliché quote from The Dark Knight based on the irresistible force paradox.
“This is what happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object.”
asserted
force → close → object
Brian Flores’ blitz-heavy scheme has held every Vikings (6-1) opponent to 22 points or fewer this season, while Joe Brady’s Bills (6-1) offense leads the league with 33.3 points per game.
asserted
offense → hold → game
Folks, we have ourselves a good old-fashioned grudge match, with oddsmakers penciling in the Bills as 3.5-point road favorites and the over/under set at 44.5 points.
asserted
oddsmakers → have → points
The Vikings have the same record at home.
asserted
Vikings → have → home
Minnesota fell to the Lions in Week 8, missing a shot at perfection and letting Detroit expose one glaring weakness within its top-ranked defense: its inability to stop the run.
asserted
Detroit → fall → run
Despite Flores pressuring Jared Goff on 89.7% of dropbacks, Jahmyr Gibbs broke out for 153 rushing yards, averaging 6.7 yards per carry.
asserted
Gibbs → pressure → carry
Overall, in their last three games, they’ve allowed 146.3 on the ground.
asserted
they → allow → ground
This suggests Buffalo will deploy James Cook, the league’s reigning rushing champ and one of three backs averaging at least 100 yards per game this season, often in the game.
uncertain
Buffalo → suggest → game
The other side of the coin is Carson Wentz returning under center for Kevin O’Connell, while Kyler Murray nurses a hamstring issue.
asserted
Murray → return → issue
It’s welcome news for Minnesota fans who have watched a sluggish, underwhelming unit get bailed out by their defense week after week.
asserted
unit → ’ → week
Justin Jefferson’s best outing of the season came in Week 1, when Wentz fed him the ball.
asserted
Wentz → come → ball
He caught eight passes for 92 yards and two touchdowns.
asserted
He → catch → yards
Wentz has vowed to target Jefferson often, and that would be a smart move given the Bills’ defense ranks 26th in EPA per play (+0.09) and allows 254.7 passing yards.
asserted
defense → vow → yards
Of course, you can’t play Joe Fagnano every week, but Buffalo had good practice against backups, limiting a pair of secondary signal callers in their 36-10 win over Baltimore last week.
asserted
Buffalo → play → Baltimore
It was a welcome sign for a defense that had given up 31 points to the Texans, 34 to the Rams, and 30 to the Raiders on the road.
asserted
that → give → road
Teams that regularly give up 30-plus points usually lose, but Buffalo won all three games behind Allen and the offense’s heroics.
asserted
Buffalo → give → Allen
Minimizing turnovers will be essential for Allen when facing Minnesota’s relentless pass rush.
asserted
Minimizing → minimize → rush
Under pressure this year, Allen has a 66.7% completion rate, averaging 8.6 yards per attempt and throwing three touchdowns, though he has also suffered four sacks and thrown a pair of interceptions.
asserted
he → have → interceptions
Through eight games, the Vikings rank second overall in sacks with 25 and lead the league in QB pressure rate at 73.1%.
asserted
Vikings → rank → %
However, looking back at their 6-0 start, four of those wins came against the Buccaneers, Dolphins, Colts, and Saints — not exactly the cream of the crop.
asserted
four → look → crop
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While their offense will certainly flow better with Wentz, their defense has not faced a player of Allen’s caliber under center who can ad-lib plays and operate efficiently near the goal line in sneak formation.
The perennial MVP candidate ranks No. 1 in rushing EPA, leads all quarterbacks with nine rushing touchdowns, and is showing no signs of slowing down.
asserted
candidate → read → signs
The Play: Bills – 3.5 (+106, bet365) | Josh Allen to score a touchdown (-115, 53.5 percent, Novig)
Mike Turay is a sports journalist and editor who closely follows the NBA, NFL, college sports and UFC.
asserted
who → score → NBA
He has demonstrated expertise in both NBA and NFL player prop bets for nearly three years.
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He → demonstrate → years
Mike is also highly knowledgeable about the sportsbook offer landscape, frequently trying and reviewing the latest apps and sites.
asserted
Mike → try → apps
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