Next up for the Bills is a home game against one of the hottest teams in NFL: What to know

ORCHARD PARK - With the exception of the still undefeated Philadelphia Eagles, the Minnesota Vikings - that’s right, the Kirk Cousins Vikings - are the hottest team in the NFL.

The Vikings have won six games in a row, most recently a 20-17 come-from-behind victory at Washington, and that’s what confronts the stunned Buffalo Bills Sunday afternoon at Highmark Stadium.

It seems rather hard to believe that Minnesota at 7-1 has a better record than the 6-2 Bills, but that’s the case thanks to Buffalo’s shake-your-head 20-17 loss to the New York Jets Sunday.

All of the sudden the Bills look vulnerable as a legitimate Super Bowl favorite because their run defense has been abysmal for two weeks and now they have Dalvin Cook coming to town, the seventh-leading rusher in the NFL. And they have an MVP-level quarterback in Josh Allen who has, rather incredibly, become a turnover machine in the last six quarters.

The Vikings only loss was to the Eagles in Week 2. By winning seven of their first eight, rookie coach Kevin O’Connell became the fifth head coach since 2000 to do that, joining Mike Martz (2000), Jim Caldwell (2009), Jim Harbaugh (2011), and Matt Lafleur (2019).

Now, some context. The Vikings don’t have a standout victory as they have taken advantage of a very soft schedule. Every win has come against a team that is currently under .500 except Miami, but they defeated the Dolphins in a game that was quarterbacked by Teddy Bridgewater and Skylar Thompson as Tua Tagovailoa was sidelined.

Are they paper tigers? We might get a good indication Sunday in Orchard Park.

Top players for Minnesota Vikings on offense, defense

▶ QB Kirk Cousins: One of the most polarizing players in the NFL has been functional this season as he is completing 64.8% of his passes with 13 TDs and six interceptions. And now that Mike Zimmer is no longer the head coach, it looks like he’s enjoying playing football again, and in an offensive system that is conducive to his style.

▶ RB Dalvin Cook: The brother of Bills rookie James Cook is having another strong season as he’s averaging 4.6 yards per carry plus 19 pass receptions and six TDs overall. The Bills can only hope James becomes this kind of player.

▶ WR Justin Jefferson: He had his 19th career 100-yard receiving game Sunday, tying Odell Beckham Jr. and Randy Moss for the most such games in his first three NFL seasons. And Jefferson still has nine games to play this year. He already has 59 catches for 867 yards and 3 TDs and is one of the elite WRs in the league.

▶ WR Adam Thielen: Unlike Gabe Davis who has not produced to his expected level so far, Thielen - who used to be the Vikings’ No. 1 target before Jefferson - has been an excellent No. 2 option for Cousins with 38 catches for 418 yards and 2 TDs.

▶ TE T.J. Hockenson: Acquired in a trade from Detroit last week, his Vikings debut was spectacular in Washington, a team-high nine catches on nine targets for 70 yards. Don’t you wish Dawson Knox would have games like that?

▶ SS Harrison Smith: One of the NFL’s best safeties who can cover and also come out and play the run with equal acumen. He made his fourth interception of the season against the Commanders.

▶ CB Patrick Peterson: The veteran now in his 12th season remains one of the best cover corners in the NFL and Pro Football Focus has him graded as the best Viking in coverage this season as opposing QBs are completing less than 50% of their passes against him.

▶ LB Za’Darius Smith: He was just named NFC defensive player of the month for October. He has 8.5 sacks and against Washington, he didn’t get a sack but he had three QB hits.

▶ DE Danielle Hunter: He’s coming off a monster game in Washington as he had seven tackles including two sacks. The combination of Hunter and Smith will be a handful on the edge for a Bills offensive line that is struggling.

▶ DT Dalvin Tomlinson: If he plays - he missed Sunday’s game with a calf injury - he’s another big-time DT that the Bills have to face which has been a trend this season.

What the game means to Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are doing what the Bills probably thought they’d be doing: Cruising to a division title. The NFC North is a joke and the Vikings now have a 4 ½-game lead over the woeful Packers. Being up by that much at midseason is rare in the NFL, and the lead will only grow because the Packers, Bears and Lions all stink.

So for Minnesota, this game is all about stacking wins in the hope that they can catch and surpass Philadelphia for the No. 1 seed and homefield advantage in the NFC playoff bracket.

The Bills still have the best record in the AFC (Kansas City is also 6-2 but the Bills own the head-to-head tiebreaker). But they are in a massive fight in the AFC East with the Jets and Dolphins (both 6-3) just a half-game behind and each holding a head-to-head tiebreaker over Buffalo. And the Patriots are lurking at 5-4. There is no room for error right now for the Bills.

Who is favored to win Bills vs Vikings?

Despite the lousy loss in New York, and the fact that Minnesota has a better record, the Bills have opened as 7.5-point favorites at home.

The money line is Bills minus-370 (bet $370to win $100) and Vikings plus-280 (bet $100 to win $280). The over-under for the game is 48.5.

What time does the Bills vs Vikings game start?

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Highmark Stadium.

How to watch Buffalo Bills vs Minnesota Vikings game on TV, streaming

Cable/Network TV: FOX. The game will be available locally via the following stations: WUHF (Channel 12, Rochester), WUTV (Buffalo area), WSYT (Syracuse area), WFXV (Utica area), WYDC (Elmira area), WXXA (Albany area), and WICZ (Binghamton area).

Online streaming services: NFL.com and the NFL mobile app. Also, the NFL has a new streaming service called NFL+ which replaces NFL Game Pass, though you can’t cast the games to your TV - you must watch on your phone or tablet. The cost is $5 a month or $30 for the season, and a premium tier costs $10/$80 which includes all-22 coaches film and condensed and full-game replays. With it, you’ll be able to watch every local game on Sunday and the national games on Monday and Thursday nights as well as the playoffs and the Super Bowl. You can also stream if you have subscriptions to DirecTV, fuboTV, NFL+, Sling, Vidgo, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV.

On the radio: How to listen to the Bills vs Vikings game

How to listen: The Bills Radio Network has stations all across the state. They include Rochester (WCMF 96.5 and WROC 950 AM), Buffalo (WGR550, 550 AM), Syracuse (WTKW 99.5/WTKV 105.5), Binghamton (WDRE 100.5FM), Ithaca (WIII 99.9/100.3 FM), Bath (WVIN 98.3 FM), Newark (WACK 1420 AM), Dansville (WDNY 93.9 FM), Elmira (WNGZ 1490 AM), Auburn (WAUB 98.1 FM/1590 AM), and Geneva (WGVA 95.9 FM, 1240 AM). You can also listen on SiriusXM satellite radio on channel 227 (Bills) and channel 383 (Vikings).

Sal Maiorana can be reached at maiorana@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @salmaiorana.To subscribe to Sal's new twice-a-week newsletter, Bills Blast, please follow this link: https://profile.democratandchronicle.com/newsletters/bills-blast

This article originally appeared on Rochester Democrat and Chronicle: Who do the Bills play next? A home game vs 7-1 team in NFL Week 10