The Minnesota Vikings did what nobody thought they would do outside of the state of Minnesota and that is beat the Buffalo Bills at Highmark Stadium by a score of 33-30 in overtime.
The game itself was tremendous and arguably the game of the year in the NFL. This season for the Vikings is developing a truly special feel to it.
The Vikings have won seven straight games with all of them being by one score. They are consistently winning the fourth quarter and finding ways to win.
The game had quite a few winners and losers from it. Let’s take a look at the week 10 studs and duds.
Stud: Justin Jefferson
There wasn’t a player that was better than Jefferson in the game. He was winning against all coverage, in space and most importantly at the catch point. On a critical fourth down with 18 yards to go, Jefferson made the catch of the year taking the ball from the safety to extend the Vikings drive. With the Vikings playing against Stefon Diggs for the first time, Jefferson showed that the Vikings ended up with the better player.
Justin Jefferson with the play of the year pic.twitter.com/XnQC2JGGbh
— Tyler Forness (@TheRealForno) November 13, 2022
Stud: Patrick Peterson
With Cameron Dantzler having been put on injured reserve before the game, Peterson was going to be called upon to be the leader in the cornerback room. He did just that and then some. After Akayleb Evans left the game with a concussion, Peterson stepped up in a major way by intercepting Josh Allen twice in the end zone, including the game-clincher in overtime. Peterson now has three interceptions on the season and they couldn’t have come in bigger moments.
Stud: Dalvin Cook
One of the underrated storylines of the day was seeing the Cook brothers Dalvin and James play against each other. James had early success with a near-touchdown run on the Bills’ second drive but brother Dalvin was the one who had the big game. On the first play after the Vikings went down 17 points, Dalvin took it upon himself to give the Vikings a much-needed jolt with an 81-yard touchdown run. He also had 26 yards on the Vikings one drive in overtime with multiple first downs.
Dud: Greg Joseph
The Vikings’ much-maligned kicker didn’t help his cause today missing a key extra point that could have lost them the game if it weren’t for a muffed snap by Allen in the end zone. Joseph has not had a great season so far. This was his fifth missed extra point of the season and that’s not what you want from your kicker after just nine games.
Stud: Kirk Cousins
Considering his reputation going into the season, you wouldn’t expect Cousins to be one of the most clutch quarterbacks in the NFL. With how the 2022 season has unfolded, he has become just that. In the Vikings eight wins, Cousins has six game-winning drives and has been great when it matters the most. He made some insane throws on Sunday afternoon to give the Vikings a chance to win. Now, he does need to figure out the inconsistencies in the third quarter but how well he’s played in the fourth quarter has been tremendous.
Dud: Ed Ingram
There weren’t a lot of players that had poor games on Sunday but Ingram had some rough spots. He allowed a few pressures as he has in nearly every game this season, but the big issue that he had was stepping on Cousins’ foot right after the snap. One of those came at the end of the game with the Vikings inside the five-yard line. Those are the type of rookie mistakes that you cannot have happening twice in a big spot.
Stud: Blake Brandel
When it was announced that Christian Darrisaw was being evaluated for a concussion, there was a slight panic as he has arguably been the most valuable player for the Vikings. Thankfully, Blake Brandel came in and was a stalwart player. He received help from the tight ends and running backs on occasion but Brandel made sure that he wasn’t the reason that the Vikings lost.
