hustling to give Buffalo an early lead in his first NFL road start.Then, the Bills https://www.minnesotavikingsshop.com/hats turned their defense loose on Kirk Cousins and delivered a stunningly lopsided victory over the Minnesota Vikings.More Vikings coverageVikings coordinators: Defending Brees, Holton Hill’s role, a Minneapolis Miracle story and moreWATCH: The second annual Minnesota Sports AwardsVikings welcome Everson Griffen back to practiceVikings captain Griffen returns to team activitiesVikings Snap Counts: Rookie Hill shines with Rhodes ailingAllen accounted for three touchdowns, making Cousins look like the raw rookie as the Bills beat the Vikings 27-6 on Sunday as 16-point underdogs.“This is a tough place to play. That’s a good Vikings defense,” said Allen, who became the first Bills rookie quarterback to record at least one rushing and passing score in his first career road start. “It just solidifies the trust that I have in my teammates.”Cousins had three turnovers. He lost a fumble on a third-down sack inside Minnesota’s 20-yard line on each of the first two possessions , and Buffalo turned those recoveries into 10 points. The Bills built a 27-0 lead by midway through the second quarter as the crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium, where the Vikings had won 10 of their last 11 games including the playoffs, began booing with increased intensity.“Great defense, well-coached, great scheme,” Cousins said. “They have legitimate players at a lot of different positions.”The Vikings (1-1-1) allowed the Bills (1-2) to become only the sixth 16-plus-point underdog winner in the NFL’s last 81 point spreads of that size. According to ESPN research, the last such winner was Washington over Dallas on Dec. 3, 1995.“I don’t think we took them too lightly,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “I think they came out and kicked our butts.”After being outscored 75-9 over their first six quarters of the season Minnesota Vikings Hoodie , the Bills have enjoyed a 41-9 advantage over the last six periods.“We really don’t really pay attention to what people think about us,” linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said. “It’s all about internal belief and confidence. If you listen to outside noise, we’d never win a game because nobody respects Buffalo at all. We have to continue to go out and earn that respect.”Allen certainly earned some with this performance.The seventh overall pick in the draft out of Wyoming who took the job earlier than expected in relief of a struggling Nathan Peterman in the opener, completed 15 of 22 passes for 196 yards. That included a 26-yard touchdown pass to wide-open tight end Jason Croom .AIRBORNE ALLENThough Allen took three sacks and fumbled three times, the Bills were able to recover all of them. He put together a mini-highlight film with his feet while injured running back LeSean McCoy watched in a sweatsuit 鈥?with a big smile 鈥?from the sideline.Allen dived to finish a 10-yard run by beating Anthony Barr to the pylon to finish the game’s first drive. Later, on third-and-9, Allen hurdled over Barr to land past the first-down marker. He capped that possession with a 1-yard touchdown leap over the goal line on fourth down for a 24-0 lead early in the second quarter.“He was decisive early, and that’s important,” coach Sean McDermott said. “It looked like he played with a clear mind.”GROUNDED GAMEWith running back Dalvin Cook (hamstring) inactive and the score so lopsided, the Vikings set a franchise record for fewest rushing attempts with six. Cousins, who took four sacks, finished 40 for 55 for 296 yards and a late touchdown to Kyle Rudolph .GOING GREENThe Vikings inducted the late Dennis Green, who’s second behind Bud Grant in winning percentage as a head coach, into their Ring of Honor. Green, who guided the Vikings to the playoffs in eight of his 10 seasons, became the 24th member. The Vikings beat the Bills in all three meetings under Green.INJURY REPORTBills: Beyond McCoy (rib) https://www.minnesotavikingsshop.com/Paul-Krause-Jersey , starting CB Phillip Gaines (elbow) and backup DE Shaq Lawson (hamstring) was inactive. … Russell Bodine, who started at C for Ryan Groy, left with leg cramps in the third quarter. Groy, who had moved to LG when Vlad Ducasse was injured, shifted back to the middle as Ducasse re-entered. … CB Ryan Lewis, making his NFL debut in place of Gaines, left with an injury in the fourth quarter. Murphy (ankle) did, too.Vikings: In addition to Cook and DE Everson Griffen (knee), backup TE David Morgan (knee) and PR Marcus Sherels (ribs) were held out. Griffen was not at the game, and Zimmer said he was dealing with a “personal matter.” … CB Trae Waynes (ankle) left in the first quarter and didn’t return. … RT Rashod Hill (ankle) departed in the second quarter and didn’t return.UP NEXTBills: Play at Green Bay next Sunday.Vikings: Play the Rams in Los Angeles on Thursday night. EAGAN, Minn. 鈥?As Kirk Cousins backpedaled in the pocket with Minnesota on the move late in the first half last week, Adam Thielen broke for the back corner of the end zone.Cousins had to make an off-balance throw to beat a fast-approaching Michael Bennett, and Thielen had little room left in bounds to secure the catch with two Philadelphia defenders a step behind him.The ball floated just over the outstretched arm of cornerback Jalen Mills and neatly into Thielen’s hands in time for him to hit both feet on the turf and give the Vikings a two-touchdown lead on Sunday. Mills was flagged for holding to add to the degree of difficulty on the play.More Vikings coverageVikings coordinators: Defending Brees, Holton Hill’s role, a Minneapolis Miracle story and moreWATCH: The second annual Minnesota Sports AwardsVikings welcome Everson Griffen back to practiceVikings captain Griffen returns to team activitiesVikings Snap Counts: Rookie Hill shines with Rhodes ailingBut about one-third of the way through the first season for Cousins in Minnesota the fact that the pass was completed was hardly a surprise.“He does such a good job of just making it easy on us,” said Thielen Fran Tarkenton Jersey Black Friday , who leads the NFL with 47 receptions and is second with 589 yards. “We just worry about getting open, and he’s almost catching the ball for us. We just have to continue to make sure that we’re doing the little things to be at the right depth and the right timing of things, because it’s so important when you have a guy that’s as talented as him to be in the right spot at the right time.”With a quickly formed faith in Thielen and the rest of the Vikings receivers, Cousins has repeatedly succeeded in threading pinpoint throws into tight windows with “a little guts and a little bit of arm talent,” as coach Mike Zimmer put it recently.Cousins ranks fifth in the NFL with a 71.2 percent completion rate that doesn’t tell the full story of his precision. He’s been under pressure as frequently as any of his peers, with 35 hits taken (tied for seventh most in the league) and 14 sacks allowed (11th most) by the Vikings that could easily be more if Cousins didn’t have a quicker release.The tying touchdown pass to Thielen in the final minute of the fourth quarter at Green Bay on Sept. 16 was the most memorable example to date. Cousins, as he was about to be hit, somehow zipped the ball between two converging defenders into the arms of Thielen for him to fall backward into the end zone while maintaining possession. The Packers couldn’t have covered that much better.“If it was an inch left or an inch higher or an inch lower it gets knocked down,” Thielen said.Sometimes, there’s a little luck in play, too.10View Gallery Gallery:PHOTOS: Vikings at EaglesMatt Rourke | Associated Press“If that was a random second down in the middle of the second quarter, I would’ve been like, ‘Hey, that one’s a little tight,'” Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo said. “But if you’re trying to drive down and win the football game, there’s less than a minute to go in the game Chuck Foreman Jersey , those are the chances you have to take.”Even if the quarterback himself isn’t sure the pass will reach the target.“It’s a fast game, and if you think you’re going to throw every throw with great vision and a great understanding of where the ball is going, I think you’re fooling yourself,” Cousins said. “There’s a lot of throws that I make, especially last Sunday, where I’m trying to listen to the crowd’s reaction to decide if it was complete or incomplete because I’m looking through peoples’ shins to try to see what happened. That’s the nature of this league.”There’s no more important trait at this position than being able to consistently put the ball in the right place, even as a youth. In the opening credits for the TV show “Friday Night Lights,” high school quarterback Matt Saracen is shown throwing into a tire hanging in his front yard in fictional Dillon, Texas. For an NFL standout like Cousins, that accuracy was always there. He’s been able to develop and improve it.“It’s innate. You either have it or you don’t,” Cousins said.7View Gallery Gallery:Upon Further Review: Vikings at EaglesMatt Rourke | Associated PressSome of his counterparts who were more runners and scramblers in high school and college have had a harder time with pro-style precision.“I was actually pretty slow as a kid, wasn’t a great athlete, so I had no choice but to stand in there and find a way to throw the football from the pocket,” he said, “and I think in the long run that’s served me well.”