The Minnesota Vikings have a critical game against the Buffalo Bills on Monday night, their only Monday Night Football appearance of the season. Quarterback Carson Wentz will start, and Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell will need to show he can build an offense around him. On the other side, defensive coordinator Brian Flores gets the toughest assignment in football: slowing down quarterback Josh Allen.

Wentz taking over means the offense will look different. Whether that change is good or bad is another question. Here’s what to look for on Monday night.

Carson Wentz changes what the Vikings offense can be

Wentz and quarterback Kyler Murray share some of the same flaws. Neither has been the most accurate passer, nor do they process the field particularly well. Murray has one weapon that Wentz lacks, which is the ability to hurt a defense as a scrambler. Wentz has a different advantage. He stands 6-foot-5 instead of 5-foot-10, and that should matter in this game.

The bigger factor might be his willingness to target wide receiver Justin Jefferson. Jefferson didn’t talk to the media after the loss to the Detroit Lions because he was frustrated. That’s understandable. He wasn’t getting the football despite getting wide open consistently.

Wentz is more than comfortable force-feeding Jefferson. This offense needs a quarterback who will force-feed its star player. It doesn’t have to look like the old Randy Moss days with the Randy Ratio, but Minnesota has to make a more concerted effort to get Jefferson the ball. That hasn’t happened with Murray. To be fair, an effort to get him the football may not have translated on the field. Murray has played three full games with Jefferson, plus a fourth that lasted seven snaps, and Jefferson caught two passes in that stretch.

Wentz also brings veteran savvy. He understands how to avoid turnovers, and that will be huge for this team. His Week 1 performance against the Green Bay Packers is a cautionary tale, though. One touchdown drive was carried by a string of penalties, and a couple of those calls were ticky-tack. That matters because Wentz threw the ball right to Packers defenders on that drive. Even with his ability to avoid turnovers, you don’t want to rely on penalties to bail you out. He looked much more comfortable in that area against the Chicago Bears.

Last season, Wentz tore the labrum in his non-throwing shoulder and played through it until J.J. McCarthy returned, then had surgery and went on injured reserve. Can he be the long-term starter? I think the answer is a resounding no. That isn’t an endorsement of Murray, either. If the Vikings had to pick one for the rest of the season, Murray is still the choice because he has more theoretical upside and there’s less information on him in this offense. That being said, Wentz could be the stabilizing piece that moves the ball enough to keep it away from Allen.

Kevin O’Connell has to stay adapted

O’Connell has done a good job adapting to his quarterbacks. The problem is that he doesn’t stay adapted. He’ll tailor a game plan for a week, then abandon it.

Part of that comes down to a level of arrogance on this offensive staff. They know the system can get receivers open for chunk plays of 10-plus yards. However, it doesn’t matter how open guys are down the field if the quarterback won’t throw it. Murray saw a lot of those timing-based, in-breaking routes, but he wasn’t comfortable ripping them.

Look at the game plans against the Miami Dolphins and New Orleans Saints compared to the Indianapolis Colts and Lions. They were night and day. You can point to the opposing defenses, but if your quarterback won’t make the middle-of-the-field throws, you can’t keep calling them.

That’s why the real test isn’t just Monday night. It’s whether any adjustments carry over against the Packers, San Francisco 49ers, Carolina Panthers, and Atlanta Falcons. If they do, Wentz might stick around longer than expected.

Brian Flores faces his toughest test in Josh Allen

Flores shut down Jared Goff against Detroit, but that comes with a caveat. Running back Jahmyr Gibbs bullied the Vikings’ run defense, finishing with over 160 yards and a touchdown. The Lions broke 18 tackles, per Pro Football Focus, and it was a big stain on Brian Flores’ unit. Stopping one player doesn’t matter if you can’t stop the overall result.

Minnesota’s defense ranks No. 1 in EPA per play, EPA per dropback, and success rate. Buffalo’s offense ranks third in EPA per play, first in EPA per dropback, first in explosive play percentage, fifth in success rate, and ninth in EPA per rush. Being top 10 in all five metrics is a big deal, and the reason is Allen.

What Allen does better than anyone is extend plays. The Bills don’t thrive on schedule; they thrive off it. Their receivers will run routes for eight or nine seconds, and once they shake free, a barely missed sack on a well-timed blitz turns into a 20-yard first down.

Flores has to generate pressure, collapse the pocket, keep Allen contained, and tackle. Allen is longer and taller than Caleb Williams, who has given the Vikings numerous problems, and he’s strong. Interior blitzes with edge rushers dropping into zones, so one of them can attack forward if Allen escapes. With running back James Cook carrying the ball, punching at it could also pay off given his history of fumbles.

The Vikings beat the Bills last time, in one of the best games the NFL has produced in years. Can they do it again? At least they’re at home this time around.