So I woke this morning to find that the Jacksonville Jaguars have traded for safety Jessie Bates III from the Atlanta Falcons, who had been rumoured to be a Buffalo Bills trade target. The Jags gave up a second-round draft pick in 2027 and a fifth in 2028. That\u2019s it.<\/p>\n
Let\u2019s face it \u2013 this is the year for the Bills to take a serious run at a Super Bowl, as Josh Allen\u2019s prime window closes. They\u2019ve danced around it for a decade but haven\u2019t gotten it done.<\/p>\n
Bates III is a former Pro Bowler, one of the best secondary guys available. And the Bills need help on defence if they\u2019re going to make a run this season \u2013 23rd in the NFL in yards allowed (352.1 yards per game), third worst in pass defence (254.7 yards per game), and 24th in points allowed (25.9 per game).<\/p>\n
General manager Brandon Beane is under pressure to make trades before tomorrow\u2019s NFL trade deadline. After the Patriots fell to the Packers yesterday, the injury to Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson, and doubts about Bo Nix and the Broncos, it feels like the Bills might never get another opportunity like this. It\u2019s time to go all in.<\/p>\n
That brings us to tonight, as the 6-1 Bills travel to U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis to take on the Vikings (6-1).<\/p>\n
Allen and the Bills offence line up against the toughest team to score against in the NFL. Interesting statistic on ESPN this morning \u2013 tonight will be the first time since 2013 that a team averaging 33 or more points per game will play a team allowing 14 or fewer points in Week 9 or later.<\/p>\n
That\u2019s the key matchup tonight, and it stands out from all the rest. The Vikings blitz a lot, but they are up against a 6-foot-5, 237-pound, fleet-of-foot quarterback with instinct and speed to sidestep a rush, break a tackle or two and turn that into a momentum-changing first down, better than any QB in the NFL.<\/p>\n
On the injury front, quarterback Kyler Murray is out, replaced by Carson Wentz, with rumours out there that the Vikings will trade for QB help (Daniel Jones?). RB Demond Claiborne (knee) and Jauan Jennings (calf) are also out, and S Jay Ward (undisclosed) and S Theo Jackson (quadriceps) are questionable.<\/p>\n
The Bills are getting healthier \u2013 just OT Alec Anderson (ankle), OT Dion Dawkins (ribs) are listed as questionable tonight, with CB Jordan Hancock (hamstring), WR Joshua Palmer (hamstring) and WR Tyrell Shavers (knee) out.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve also got my eye on Bills running back James Cook versus that Vikings\u2019 defensive front. Cook is fifth in the NFL with 707 rushing yards. According to ESPN, Allen and Cook have scored a touchdown in the same game 16 times, the most in NFL history.<\/p>\n
Here are my Bills vs Vikings picks.<\/span><\/p>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"editor_block","content":"Bills vs Vikings Odds<\/h2>\n"},{"acf_fc_layout":"editor_block","content":"