Defensively, the Vikings were in total control.  The front four was all over Ryan Fitzpatrick, especially the outside rushers Jared Allen and Brian Robison.  The Vikes forced 5 turnovers, 1 on special teams.  They held the Bills to 239 total yards and 1 garbage-time offensive touchdown.  At long last, the Vikings flashed their overwhelming talent on both sides of the ball.  Adrian Peterson and Sidney Rice were both great, T-Jack was very good for a stretch, and the defense was terrific throughout.  Yes the Bills are a bad team, but the way things have gone this year, the Vikings can’t look a gift-horse in the mouth, and neither can the fans.  This is one to revel in.

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Woo.  The Vikings are going for two in a row.  Leslie Frazier has this team really clicking now.  The new offense looks way better now that Brad Childress is gone.  Brett Favre is finally getting into some rhythm despite being hurt in every part of his body.  Adrian Peterson sprained his ankle last week but it looks like he’ll play and boy is he itching to lay a hurting on this terrible Buffalo Bills defense.  We’ve got the pass rush revved up.  Fred Pagac is bringing a new aggressive attitude to the defense.  Even Chris Kluwe has on a mean killer-dog face and wants to tear somebody a new orifice.

Woo.

Okay, now the reality:  The Vikings are 4-7 and have no chance of making the playoffs.  Brett Favre is playing out the string.  The receiver corps is banged up.  Leslie Frazier will probably play it safe and only run Adrian 10-15 times, meaning lots of action for Toby Gerhart.  Yes, the defense looked better against Washington, but that was Washington.  The Buffalo Bills though sucky overall have a decent passing game with Ryan Fitzpatrick leading the way, so it could once again be a long afternoon for our thoroughly atrocious secondary.

But at least we’re at home, where our record this year is a lofty 3-2.  And hey…we got rid of Childress.

Now to be serious:  Today’s game may not mean much in the larger NFL scheme, nor may it be an occasion for much fan enthusiasm, but there is a lot at stake for Leslie Frazier.  These last five games are Frazier’s audition for 2011.  If the Vikings somehow won out, or even finished 8-8, Frazier would have to be considered the front-runner to become the permanent head coach.  The players seem to be firmly in Frazier’s corner, so we can expect a solid effort from them – no more belly-flopping like we saw two weeks ago against the Packers.

Though I expect a good game from the allegedly rejuvenated Vikings against a feisty but nonetheless sub-par Bills team, I’m not sure how sure I should be about this expectation.  This team has come out flat more often than not this year, and frankly, that win against Washington, though surely welcome, was not of the impressive variety.  The cloud of uncertainty may have been somewhat dispelled last week by Frazier and Co., but that doesn’t mean visibility is high.  Yes, the new offense looks better than the old offense, but not enough better to make me believe it’s going to dominate even against a bad defense.  It doesn’t help matters that our top three receivers, our top running back, our starting QB and our Hall-of-Fame offensive guard are all nursing injuries.  If the Vikings do win this game, it will likely be another cobbled-together, bailing-wire-and-spit sort of performance.  Expect Brett Favre’s wiliness and Toby Gerhart’s tenacity to figure heavily in this one.  Thankfully, it looks like the defense is coming together behind the fiery Fred Pagac, so the offense won’t need to put up all that many points to win.

That’s about all the positivity I can muster going into this one.

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The Viking Age: The Bills are sort of the Lions of the AFC.  Everyone sees them as a spunky team that is slowly improving, yet they can’t seem to quite get over the hump, hence their 2-9 record.  How close are the Bills to really breaking through and becoming at least a respectable team?

BuffaLowDown: The Bills have been playing a lot better than their 2-9 record indicates. But at the end of the day, even though they are playing better, they haven’t been able to put together a complete game yet. It’s not secret that the lack of success for the Bills has to do with the inconsistency at the QB position. There hasn’t been a proven leader since Jim Kelly to take over this position and role for the Bills. And we all know in the NFL without a QB, a team doesn’t stand a chance (minus the 2000 Ravens of course). Now Fitzpatrick has proven to be able to keep the Bills in most games, but I’m still not sure if he’s the long-term answer.

The good thing to take away from this season is that the Bills’ players are finally starting to trust and believe in each other and their coaches. Confidence goes a long way for a young, struggling team, so hopefully the Bills use this season as a building block to get to the next level in 2011.
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