Bills 23, Vikings 6: Buffalo controls the ball for 42:32 and reaches 7-1

Buffalo held the ball for 42 minutes, 32 seconds and kept Minnesota without a third-down conversion in a 23-6 victory Monday night. The Bills improved to 7-1 with their fourth consecutive win, turning a difficult offensive start into a game they controlled after halftime.

James Cook III carried 31 times for 107 yards and scored from five yards out to finish a 15-play, 8:32 drive in the fourth quarter. That possession moved the lead from 13-6 to 20-6. Nine of its plays were Cook runs, a sustained answer to a Vikings defense that had repeatedly disrupted Josh Allen early.

Allen completed 21 of 31 passes for 234 yards, one touchdown and one interception. His 25-yard touchdown pass to Keleki Latu with 44 seconds left in the first half gave Buffalo a 10-3 lead. Latu found open space as Allen moved to his right; it was the tight end’s first NFL touchdown.

The defense buys Buffalo time

Minnesota’s defense initially made Buffalo work for almost everything. Byron Murphy Jr. intercepted Allen in the end zone, and the Bills managed only three points through their first six possessions. Buffalo’s own defense prevented those empty trips from becoming a substantial deficit.

Greg Rousseau recovered a backward pass intended for Justin Jefferson after Joe Brady successfully challenged the initial ruling. Dorian Williams and Terrel Bernard intercepted Carson Wentz on consecutive Minnesota possessions in the second half. Buffalo finished with three takeaways and allowed 178 total yards.

Wentz, starting with Kyler Murray sidelined by a hamstring injury, completed eight of 25 passes for 81 yards and two interceptions. Minnesota went 0-for-7 on third down. Two Will Reichard field goals accounted for all of its scoring, both before halftime.

Cook closes the game on the ground

Cook had 33 rushing yards at halftime and added 74 after the break. His workload helped Buffalo turn its defensive stops into a possession advantage of 25:04, calculated from the official 42:32 and 17:28 totals. The Vikings spent much of the second half trying to stop another drive rather than repairing their own offense.

Tyler Bass made all three field-goal attempts, finishing with a 52-yarder. The Bills outgained Minnesota 339-178. The final margin was comfortable, but the decisive touchdown came with 6:17 left, after the defense had protected a one-score lead.

Buffalo next visits the Jets at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, November 15, at 1 p.m. EST. Minnesota falls to 6-2. The Bills’ strongest evidence from Monday is the way they won: an offense that needed time to adjust received it from a defense that kept producing stops.