Murray Out; Wentz Starts vs Bills Monday

Kyler Murray is out for Monday Night Football. Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell said Thursday that Murray has a hamstring strain and will miss the game against the Buffalo Bills at U.S. Bank Stadium, with Carson Wentz starting and Max Brosmer backing him up.

Both teams sit at 6-1. Minnesota is riding an elite defense into a prime-time showdown, and now the offense has to lean on a quarterback who has already bailed the Vikings out twice this season.

Week to Week, Not Day to Day

O'Connell said the team evaluated Murray after Monday's loss to Detroit, got imaging, and settled on a hamstring strain. He framed it as week to week, not a multi-week absence, but he was clear about the risk of pushing through early.

"We don't believe it to be more than a week-to-week kind of thing right now, but for him, his movement skills and the way he plays the game, we do feel like we'd be putting him at risk of possibly turning this into a more significant injury," O'Connell said, per the team's site.

Murray left the season opener early with a concussion, then returned in Week 3 and started the next five. The sore hamstring after Detroit flipped the plan for Buffalo week.

Wentz Has Already Won Games Here

This is not a cold start for Wentz. He relieved Murray in Week 1 and helped Minnesota come back on Green Bay, then started the following week in the rain at Chicago. Across those two appearances he is 23 of 39 for 276 yards and three touchdowns, per NFL.com.

O'Connell called him a steady presence with a major role in two wins against good teams. Wentz told reporters Thursday he feels comfortable in the offense and wants Minnesota to stay on the field and sustain drives.

That matters because the Vikings' offense has been the soft spot. NFL.com has Minnesota 29th in yards per game, 31st in passing, and 27th in points (20 per game) with Murray as the main starter. The defense is carrying the record: second in yards allowed, first in points allowed at 13.3, with a league-high 73.1 percent blitz rate and a 45.8 percent pressure rate.

Monday Night at U.S. Bank

The Vikings are on an adjusted Thursday-Friday-Saturday practice schedule ahead of the Bills. Kickoff is Monday night at U.S. Bank Stadium, a 6-1 Buffalo team that can punish a shaky pocket.

If Wentz keeps Minnesota ahead of the sticks, the defense can keep doing what it has done all year. If the offense stalls again, a short-term swap starts sounding like a longer conversation.

Smacktok pick lean: Lean higher on Vikings defensive sacks and pressures. Minnesota's blitz rate and pressure numbers are the clearest edges on the board while Wentz manages the offense.

Murray's legs are the identity of this offense. Without them Monday, the Vikings need Wentz to be boring and the defense to be loud.