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The Minnesota Vikings are coming off a close call against the Washington Commanders in Week 9. The Vikings are hoping to extend their win streak to seven games as they face a possibly Josh-Allen-less Buffalo Bills on the road in Week 10 of the 2022 NFL season. A win here will keep the Vikings atop the NFC North. Here are our Vikings Week 10 predictions as they take on the Bills.
The Vikings start the week with the second-best record in the NFC, having improved to 7-1 after beating the Commanders in Week 9. Minnesota's impressive run has been under some criticism, though, since they haven't really faced any elite teams outside of the Eagles.
On the other end of the field, the Bills are looking to bounce back from only their second loss of the season. However, Buffalo has yet to lose at Highmark Stadium this season, so it will be intriguing to see whether the Bills Mafia will play a role in this week's outcome. One big concern, though, is star QB Josh Allen. Will he play? Will he sit out? That's gonna be huge for this game.
With all these in mind, here are our four bold predictions for the Vikings in their Week 10 game against the Bills.
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4. Dalvin Cook records 90+ yards from scrimmage
Vikings RB Dalvin Cook carried 17 times for 47 yards and grabbed two catches for nine yards and a touchdown in Week 9. He ran against a tough Washington run defense, but he still put up respectable numbers. The 27-year-old has rushed 131 times for 608 yards and five touchdowns this season, while also catching 19 passes for 119 yards and one score. The Bills have another top-five rush defense that will surely challenge Cook. However, the great thing about his game is that Minnesota can use him both as a rusher and receiver. We have him going 90+ yards in Buffalo.
3. Justin Jefferson puts up over 110 yards
Minnesota's star WR Justin Jefferson grabbed seven of 13 targets for 115 yards and a score in Week 9. The 23-year-old caught his first touchdown pass since Week 1 when he had two. He's still a target machine for QB Kirk Cousins, so we might see another endzone catch here.
In Week 10, Jefferson is set to face a Bills defense that ranks 22nd against opposing No. 1 wide receivers. This means JJ has a great chance to go off in a big way. We have him easily going over 110+ yards against Buffalo.
Here is also another thing to keep in mind — recall that the Vikings utilized the Bills' pick in 2020 to choose Jefferson. Minnesota got that pick in a deal involving Stefon Diggs. Both JJ and Diggs are currently top-five wide receivers in the league and have been outstanding this season.
This can give JJ added motivation to perform well here since it's the first time JJ will actually play the Bills.
2. Kirk Cousins goes over 250 yards total
Vikings QB Kirk Cousins completed 22-of-40 passes for 265 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception in their Week 9 win. The 34-year-old continues to lead Minnesota to victories despite being routinely left out of elite QB conversations. He will be put to maybe his biggest test of the season in Week 10 as they face the Bills. Needless to say, if Cousins performs well here, he might get a seat at the elite QB table this season.
Keep in mind that Cousins and the 7-1 Vikings are one of the NFL season's feel-good tales. Cousins has generally been playing well, but he has not performed as well on the road as he has at home. In fact, Cousins has a 101.7 passer rating at home while having just a 77.7 passer rating on the road. That seems quite ominous.
There's no doubt Cousins will face an uphill battle this week against the Bills, but he might be up to the challenge. Buffalo has everything that can make his life tough on Sunday. The Bills allow the fifth-lowest EPA per dropback and the sixth-lowest yards per attempt in the league. On the flip side, Cousins might be saved by Buffalo's merely middle-of-the-road pass rush (18th in pressure rate) and aversion to blitzing (31st in blitz rate). He has been pretty good in the pocket, so that could be something.
Also, at least Cousins is fully healthy, unlike Josh Allen, who might not even play in this game. We have Capt. Kirk going over 250+ yards and two touchdowns in this contest.
1. Vikings lose even if Josh Allen misses this game
While the Vikings have a very good-looking record, they have admittedly benefited from a relatively light schedule. Remember that Minnesota has only faced one real Super Bowl contender, the Philadelphia Eagles, and they lost that game 24-7.
The Vikings reached a new peak in power rankings.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) November 8, 2022
In addition, the Vikings have struggled to score on the road. This season, they average 24.1 points per game, which is eighth overall. However, that lowers to 19.8 points per game on the road.
As for the Bills, they have yet to lose on their home field. In fact, they're 19-4 straight up in their previous 23 games at Highmark Stadium, and they haven't lost there since December 6, 2021. Furthermore, Buffalo has the NFL's strongest scoring offenses and defenses at home.
But as we already said, the biggest question mark here is Josh Allen. If he plays, the Bills should win easily. If not, then that's a lot of pressure on Keenum to deliver, although the veteran has shown he can step in and step up when needed (see Cleveland last season). Also, the Vikings defense has been porous. In fact, they rank worst in both completions and passing yards allowed per game.
Taking everything into consideration, the Vikings will likely absorb loss No. 2 and be left out in the cold, with or without Allen playing in Buffalo.
