Vikings Fans Prefer to Play Josh Allen — Not Case Keenum

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Buffalo Bills Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen. © BILL INGRAM/PALM BEACH POST via Imagn Content Services, LLC.

Minnesota Vikings fans do not desire a more accessible pathway to victory in Week 10 — if the choice was up to them.

The Vikings take on the Buffalo Bills in New York this weekend, and Buffalo’s QB1 Josh Allen is nursing a bum elbow. He was injured in a Week 9 loss to the upstart New York Jets.

And surprisingly, Vikings loyalists don’t want the “easy way out” in taking on a familiar name in Case Keenum, who led Minnesota to an NFC Championship appearance in 2017. Nope — Vikings faithful want the real deal, presumably using Allen’s Bills as a barometer to determine how good the Vikings can be in 2022.

Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports.

VikingsTerritory polled fans this week, asking which quarterback folks would prefer the Vikings encounter on Sunday. With 59% of the vote, the masses said, “a healthy Josh Allen, please.”

Via the unscientific poll, 2,477 respondents weighed in.

Allen is officially listed as “questionable” for the tryst and did not practice all week. Keenum, on the other hand, took most practice reps — usually an indicator that a player will start. And truth be told, Keenum is one of the NFL’s top backups. The wily passer has never shined as the announced QB1 heading into a season but does excel when expectations are low.

Quarterback Case Keenum. © Jamie Germano / USA TODAY NETWORK.

Oddsmakers seem to believe Allen will not play. The point spread opened around 7.5 points favoring Buffalo but shrunk to just three points as of Saturday afternoon. The Vikings are 3-0 against backup quarterbacks in 2022 (Andy Dalton, Skylar Thompson + Teddy Bridgewater, and Taylor Heinicke). Yet, the franchise has demons from losing to Dalton, Cooper Rush, Chase Daniel, and Matt Moore in the last four seasons. Something’s gotta give in that regard.

The overall takeaway? Vikings fans, apparently, don’t want an easier pathway to victory. About three-fifths want the Bills at full strength, an interesting development as Minnesota eyes homefield advantage in the postseason.

The Vikings haven’t won a game in Buffalo in 25 years.


Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sal Spice. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).

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