MINNEAPOLIS — Joshua Metellus shrugged off the difference in time of possession.

"It's a team game, man," the multi-year Vikings captain told reporters after a 23-6 loss to Buffalo on Monday Night Football. "Every time we step on the field, we expect to get a stop. And no matter if it's 100 plays, no matter if it's three plays, the standard in our room is get a stop. It's never how many plays we played; it's never that. It's always, are we getting stops? Which we didn't; [we] gave up 23 points.

"Can't do that," Metellus lamented.

Minnesota's defense held the high-octane Bills to its fewest points and yards (339) since Week 17 last season, and its fewest yards per play (4.3) since Week 18 two years ago (Mitchell Trubisky started at QB in that game). Buffalo put up monster numbers in other areas, though. It controlled the game with 79 plays and 42:32 time of possession.

Metellus offered a defensive-minded perspective.

"I'm like, that's 43 minutes we had a chance to go get the ball. You know, like I think anytime our unit's out there, we have a chance to make game-winning plays," he said. "So to be out there that long, man, I think we just got to find a way to make more plays, give our offense more chances, you know, find a way to kickstart [them.] It's a team game. We got to play complementary football.

"If they need a little bit of kick, we got to be the ones to give them that kick," Metellus continued. "There were some plays we missed. There were some turnovers we could have had, some stops we could have made to just get the momentum in our favor, give the offense a little bit of love. But we'll get it done. I'm sure once we get rolling and the rhythm starts to hit, this team will be flying again."

The toughest part was staying "mentally strong," said Dallas Turner, who tallied one of the unit's four sacks and had five tackles and a pass deflection. "It could weigh on anybody — we are human at the end of the day. But I feel like [being out there for that long] was an opportunity for us to band together as brothers — as a defense — and really just embrace the moment, enjoy the difficulty."

Enjoying the difficulty is a mature mindset that supports this group's weekly performance.

Metellus reiterated that the lopsided TOP wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back, if you will.

"We're in shape. We rotate a lot," he said. "You guys can get caught up in the time of possession, but we move in — you guys see the sideline. We got four or five guys running in and out every play. We do a good job on that front. And at the end of the day, once we're out there, we're out there.

"In this game of football, you can't beg, you can't plead, you get what you get," Metellus added. "Today we got a lot of snaps, and we got to make do with what we [got]. I think we handled it well."

For most of the matchup, the Vikings defense played up to its lofty standards. It bottled up Allen with great pass rush discipline; it forced an early takeaway — Byron Murphy, Jr., intercepted a pass 3 yards deep in the end zone and returned it 55 yards; Turner called it "one of the bright spots" — and made sound corrections from a week ago up front in the run game, limiting James Cook to 3.5 yards per carry on 31 rushes. But two extended Bills touchdown drives did damage that Minnesota couldn't overcome on a night when its offense produced 178 yards and Carson Wentz finished with an 8.9 passer rating (the lowest in a single game this season for an NFL QB with 10-plus attempts).

Buffalo scored its pair of touchdowns on eight- and 15-play marches that netted 80 and 84 yards. The former featured quick strikes in the final few minutes of the first half, while the latter involved a run-centric approach that capitalized on second and third downs that were manageable distances.

"We got to stay out of those situations like we were doing earlier in the game when it was second-and-10, third-and-9," Metellus remarked. "[If] we stay in those, we give ourselves a good chance. You get in that third-and-2-to-3, third-and-1-to-4, we give ourselves a [lower] chance to stop them."

Turner commented, "We're warriors, so we go out there no matter what adversity, what situation we're in. I feel like we have the mental fortitude … to be put it in whatever situation [and do the job]."

Buffalo's TOP tied for its second most in a game since at least 1983, according to Stathead, and it was the most allowed to an opponent by the Vikings in a game under Head Coach Kevin O'Connell.

That's possibly bad news for Minnesota's defensive legs on a short week. It's good news, however, that the Vikings can quickly flip the page and aim to return to the win column when they visit the Packers.

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