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By TJ Macias
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On Monday, Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell told reporters that quarterback Kyler Murray was dealing with a sore hamstring, so, to no one’s surprise, O’Connell announced on Thursday that backup QB Carson Wentz will start against the Buffalo Bills on Monday.
Which means it’s time for another round of the game “Opinions: All People Have Them” with forever guest star Stephen A. Smith.
During “First Take” on Friday, Smith expressed his opinion on who he’s more intrigued to watch during Monday’s match up – Bills QB Josh Allen, or backup Wentz? Smith started out by praising Allen.
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“As great as (Bills QB) Josh Allen is, with the acquisition of a D.J. Moore, with James Cook fumbling the ball even though he hasn’t been doing that over the last few weeks with Joe Brady now inserted as the new head coach who’s the former offensive coordinator,” Smith said. “You wanna see what, if any difference there is, during the years of Sean McDermott coaching Josh Allen compared to what it’s gonna look like with Joe Brady coaching him. Is what we’re seeing legitimate? Brian Flores gonna make you find that out. He’s gonna blitz all day, every day, coming at Josh Allen. Josh Allen is too experienced, too gifted to succumb to all of that. You know what? He should know how to handle it, but we have seen him succumb to it before, particularly against Houston in the last few years up until recently. So we gotta take that into consideration as well.”
And in true Stephen A. fashion, flipped it up.
“I’m not gonna lie, I wanna see Wentz too in this regard,” he continued. “If Wentz wins this game because Wentz comes close to matching Josh Allen, Wentz is going to be the new starting quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings.”
So clearly, Smith has a favorite in Allen, but cushioned his decision with final thought on Wentz.
Wentz has started six full games and part of a seventh since signing with the Vikings in 2025 with the QB completing 63.9% of his passes for 1,492 yards, nine touchdowns and five interceptions.
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Murray has been struggling during the Vikings 2026 season, which is his first, and when carrying the offense as they’ve ranked 29th in yards gained per game, 31st in passing and 27th in points scored per contest (20), NFL.com reports.
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