Minnesota Vikings at Buffalo Bills: Fourth Quarter Open Thread

The Buffalo Bills received the second half kickoff against the Minnesota Vikings, and started their first drive at their own 32-yard line after a nice return by Leodis McKelvin. The Vikings got a nice three-and-out to start the drive, and Buffalo punted the ball away to the Vikings. Colton Schmidt got a very nice punt away, and Marcus Sherels. . .for some reason. . .called for a fair catch at the Minnesota 6-yard line.

Jerick McKinnon got the Vikings out of that hole pretty quickly with a 29-yard run that saw him break several tackles. Teddy Bridgewater was sacked by Jerry Hughes on the next play, and eventually wound up having to punt the ball back to Buffalo. Jeff Locke managed to hit a decent punt, but McKelvin's return allowed the Bills to start with good field position at their own 40-yard line.

The Bills quickly pushed into Vikings territory on a pass from Kyle Orton to Sammy Watkins, and got inside the Minnesota 30 on a run from Anthony Dixon (the only remaining healthy running back for the Bills). But, the Vikings forced yet another Buffalo turnover, as Everson Griffen once again got to Orton and forced a strip sack, with Anthony Barr. . .who is having a great game. . .pouncing on the fumble for the Vikings fourth turnover of the afternoon.

Matt Asiata picked up a first down on the next drive for the Vikings, but the purple got stonewalled on 3rd-and-1 and were forced to punt for a three-and-out. This time, it was Locke's turn to get off a great punt, as the Vikings downed the ball at the Buffalo 8-yard line. The ball was moved to the 13 after an illegal touch on Marcus Sherels (went out of bounds and was the first person to touch the ball in bounds), giving the Bills a 1st-and-5.

The Vikings again forced a three-and-out, with Everson Griffen notching his third sack of the season to force the Bills to punt. Marcus Sherels atoned for some of his earlier mistakes, as his punt return put the Vikings at midfield to start their next drive.

A couple of runs by Jerick McKinnon got the Vikings to the Buffalo 40-yard line. Teddy Bridgewater made a very nice pass to Chase Ford to get the Vikings near the red zone, but it was nullified by a hands to the face penalty on Matt Kalil. As we move to the final quarter of play, the Vikings are looking at a 3rd-and-18 from the Buffalo 49-yard line.

After three quarters of play at Ralph Wilson Stadium, the Minnesota Vikings lead the Buffalo Bills by a score of 13-10. Can the purple and gold hold on and escape from New York with a win?