It was not pretty, but it was decisive. The Buffalo Bills beat the Minnesota Vikings 23-6 on Monday Night Football at U.S. Bank Stadium, improving to 7-1 and keeping the best record in the AFC. The Vikings fell to 6-2 and have now lost two straight.

Here are the key takeaways, based on reporting from ESPN and NBC Sports’ ProFootballTalk.

Buffalo wins the time-of-possession battle

Minnesota came in with one of the NFL’s stingiest defenses, and for much of the night it made Buffalo’s high-powered offense look ordinary. The Bills finished with a season low in points. So they changed the shape of the game.

Coach Joe Brady’s plan relied on quick, short throws and a heavy dose of running back James Cook III. Buffalo ran 79 plays for 399 yards and held the ball for 42 minutes and 32 seconds, steadily wearing down a defense that had to stay on the field.

James Cook’s workhorse night

Cook carried the ball 31 times for 107 yards and a touchdown. According to ESPN, it was only the second time in his career he has topped 30 carries. That volume was the backbone of Buffalo’s approach and kept Minnesota’s offense on the sideline.

Josh Allen keeps it efficient

Josh Allen did not need to carry the game on his own. He completed 21 of 31 passes for 234 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Eight different players caught at least one pass, including tight end Keleki Latu, whose 25-yard score was the first touchdown of his career.

A night to forget for Minnesota’s offense

The Vikings’ offense never found any rhythm. ProFootballTalk’s numbers are stark: 178 total yards on 46 plays, nine first downs, three turnovers, five punts, 0-for-8 on third down and 0-for-2 on fourth down.

Quarterback Carson Wentz, filling in for the injured and struggling Kyler Murray, completed 8 of 25 passes for 81 yards with two interceptions, finishing with an 8.9 passer rating. Buffalo also sacked him once. The home crowd booed as the game went on, and with Minnesota down three scores late in the fourth quarter, coach Kevin O’Connell benched Wentz for backup Max Brosmer.

It was a notable result for a Bills defense that entered the night ranked 30th in the league against the pass.

What it means in the standings

The win puts Buffalo alongside the San Francisco 49ers at 7-1 as the regular season reaches its halfway point. For Minnesota, the loss is costly in a crowded NFC North where every team has at least six wins. As BBC Sport noted, the Vikings slipped from first to third in the division, with the Chicago Bears moving to the top.

The Vikings have not scored more than 16 points in any of their past three games, according to ProFootballTalk.

What comes next

The timing makes Monday’s struggles even more pressing for Minnesota. The NFL trade deadline was set for Tuesday afternoon, and ESPN noted that Wentz’s performance erased much of the belief that he could provide steadier quarterback play. Whether the Vikings make a move, or stick with their current options, is the big question heading into Week 10.

Buffalo, meanwhile, showed it can win a defensive slugfest as well as a shootout. That flexibility could matter a lot in January.

The bottom line

Buffalo did not light up the scoreboard, but it controlled the clock, protected a lead and leaned on its running game to beat one of the NFL’s best defenses on the road. Minnesota’s defense kept it close for a while, yet an offense that could not convert on third or fourth down never gave it a chance.

Image: U.S. Bank Stadium from the interstate, August 2018 by Thomson200 via Wikimedia Commons, CC0 1.0