New England Patriots vs Minnesota Vikings
On Sunday afternoon, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots will try to bounce back from their 33-20 loss when they travel to Minnesota to take on Adrian Peterson and the Vikings on Sunday afternoon. Unlike the Patriots, the Vikings, led by quarterback Matt Cassel, couldn’t have asked for a better start – they blew out the St. Louis Rams 34-6 to start their season 1-0.
Patriots vs. Vikings viewing information:
Date: September 14, 2014
Start Time: 1:00 pm EST
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota
Stadium: TCF Bank Stadium,
TV Info: CBS/NFL Sunday Ticket
Live Stream: NFLSundayTicket.TV
Radio: NFL Audio Pass
Ticket information: For Patriots ticket information, click here. For Vikings ticket information, click here.
Keys to Victory
The Patriots have to be much better against the run. They were absolutely gashed by Knowshon Moreno in their loss to the Dolphins on Sunday. Running behind what was supposed to be a suspect offensive line, Moreno rushed for 134 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries as the Dolphins rallied from a 20-10 deficit, outscoring the Patriots 23-0 in the second half. Now, the Patriots get to try to defend one of the best backs of all time in Adrian Peterson. Peterson had just 75 yards on 21 carries in the opener but the Rams may have the league’s best defensive line. Defending second-year receiver Cordarrelle Patterson will also be a challenge – he rushed for 102 yards on three carries, including a 67-yard touchdown run, caught three passes for 26 yards and returned two kicks for 48 yards.
Look for the Patriots to load the box and try to force Cassel, who started 15 games and went 10-5 for the Patriots when Tom Brady tore his ACL in 2008, to find Patterson and Greg Jennings in the passing game.
The Patriots’ offensive line was a mess in a week one and improvement there will be key for their offense. Although the Vikings don’t have a pass rusher like Cameron Wake of the Dolphins, they still could present huge problems for the Patriots up front. The Patriots will also look to get their running game going – they had just 89 yards on only 20 carries the ground last week. Tom Brady attempted 56 passes and was sacked four times, meaning the Patriots ran on just a quarter of their 80 plays.
Betting Odds
Point Spread: New England -3
Moneyline: NE -16 Min 140
O/U: 49
Prediction
The Vikings have some advantages here, especially after the Patriots were torched on the ground. However, the Patriots will like force Cassel to try to beat them and they know him very well so that could be a difficult task. The Patriots should be able to protect Brady a little better without a terror like Wake coming after him and I like them to win what should be a very close game.
Final Score: Patriots 27, Vikings 24