Vikings' Christian Darrisaw and Akayleb Evans exit Bills win because of concussions

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Reserve offensive lineman Blake Brandel had only appeared for one snap for the Vikings offense this season — 66 in his three-year NFL career — when he was suddenly inserted into one of the wildest finishes in franchise history during Sunday's 33-30 overtime victory at Buffalo.

Brandel replaced left tackle Christian Darrisaw, who suffered a concussion and did not return to the game. Brandel, the 2020 sixth-round pick, drew rave reviews from right tackle Brian O'Neill in what the veteran called a "tough spot." Cornerback Akayleb Evans also left at the start of the second half because of a concussion.

"That was an insane game in the first place," Brandel said, "so to be able to get in there just makes it that much crazier."

O'Neill and center Garrett Bradbury agreed in the locker room postgame that Sunday's win was one of the "hardest fought" of their careers. O'Neill said he was proud of how the offensive line played against a Bills front that still got four sacks on Kirk Cousins, who dropped back over 50 times. O'Neill limited the damage from Bills edge rusher Von Miller to one sack.

"It was a great test for me," O'Neill said. "I want one play back out of probably 55. It was toward the end. But, I mean, he's a Hall of Famer, gold jacket, I felt I stepped up and went toe to toe with him most of the day."

Cornerback Andrew Booth Jr., the 2022 second-round pick, first replaced Evans in the third quarter. Booth was flagged for a pass interference call defending against Bills receiver Gabe Davis before Buffalo's game-tying field goal. Cornerback Duke Shelley, signed to the active roster on Saturday, played three snaps and had an end-zone deflection in overtime while covering Bills tight end Dawson Knox.

Edge rusher Za'Darius Smith was briefly evaluated for a knee contusion, according to coach Kevin O'Connell, but he returned and finished the game.

Running back Dalvin Cook called Sunday a "special" win, not only because of his career-long 81-yard touchdown run and 119-yard rushing day, but because he did so against his younger brother, Bills running back James Cook.

The Cooks swapped jerseys after the game and a Saturday night of bonding with family.

"I wrote on his jersey, 'Dreams do come true,'" Cook said. "We couldn't imagine it. We always talked about wanting to go to the NFL when we was kids, we want to play against each other, I'm going to beat you, you're going to beat me. It actually happened."

Cook reached 21.68 miles per hour on his 81-yard touchdown run — the longest by a Vikings player since Adrian Peterson in 2012 — which marked the third-fastest speed by a ball carrier this season, per NFL's Next Gen Stats.