The Viking Age
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Experts have the Minnesota Vikings as underdogs vs Patriots in Week 13

By Adam Carlson

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 14: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots and head coach Mike Zimmer of the Minnesota Vikings greet on the field after the end of the game at TCF Bank Stadium on September 14, 2014 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - SEPTEMBER 14: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots and head coach Mike Zimmer of the Minnesota Vikings greet on the field after the end of the game at TCF Bank Stadium on September 14, 2014 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /
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The experts overwhelmingly believe the New England Patriots will defeat the Minnesota Vikings at Gillette Stadium in Week 13 of the 2018 NFL season.

Considering everything that has happened to the Minnesota Vikings this season, they have to be feeling pretty good about their team’s winning record while also having their backs against the wall when it comes to a playoff berth.

In Week 13, the New England Patriots will be a massive challenge for the purple and gold on the road as they face off against an amazing coach, at least two future Pro Football Hall of Fame players (Tom Brady, Rob Gronkowski) and last year’s AFC representative in the Super Bowl.

For those reasons and more, experts aren’t liking the Vikings chances of getting a victory. Let’s take a look at what they are saying and how those picks are divided up.

Picking the Minnesota Vikings

Only seeing three names among the experts who believe the Minnesota Vikings will get this win is a little tough, but then again it’s easy to see since they’re going up against a team with a better record in a larger market with a superstar quarterback and a history of success.

Still, it will all depend on which Vikings team shows up. Will it be the one who beat the Packers and the Eagles or the one who fell apart against the Bills? Minnesota will need to play mistake-free football to get a win this week.

Picking the New England Packers

  • Bleacher Report – Consensus: “The Vikes offensive line—which ranks 30th at Pro Football Focus—has been terrible all season, while Minnesota quarterback Kirk Cousins has been mistake-prone and inconsistent.” (21-30)
  • CBS Sports: Pete Prisco, Will Brinson, Ryan Wilson, John Breech, Dave Richard, Jamey Eisenberg
  • CBS Sports – Pete Prisco: “The New England defense will get after Kick Cousins, who plays behind an average line. The Patriots will take it.” (23-20)
  • CBS Sports – Ryan Wilson: “The Vikings have lost four straight to the Pats, and haven’t won in New England since the 2000 season” (17-20)
  • NFL.com – Elliot Harrison: “While it is still purdy, this matchup doesn’t resonate like it did in April.” (30-34)
  • NJ.com – Joe Giglio: “New England can smell blood in the water with a first-round bye up for grabs in the AFC. They’ll win by a score here.”
  • Pioneer Press – Kevin Cusick: “Former Vikings receiver Cordarrelle Patterson raised eyebrows last Sunday when he was caught on video grabbing and squeezing the crotch of the Jets’ Henry Anderson during a pileup.” (Pats by 7)
  • Pro Football Talk – Mike Florio: ” One of the best games of the day feels like it could go either way, but I like the Patriots to pull it out late.” (21-24)
  • Pro Football Talk – MDS: “Vikings simply don’t match up well with a Patriots team that matches up well with pretty much everyone. This could get ugly.” (20-31)
  • SBNation: RVB, Stephen White, Geoff Schwartz, Charles McDonald, Christian D’Andrea, Jeremy Reisman
  • Sporting News – David Steele: “Bill Belichick likely has plans for neutralizing that offense, because that’s what the Patriots do best this time of year.” (19-30)
  • Sporting News – Vinnie Iyer: “Cousins will duel will Brady well, but the X-factor here is special teams. That’s how the Patriots will win a close one.” (27-30)
  • USA Today: Jarrett Bell (23-30), Nate Davis (20-23), Mike Jones (30-38), Mike Middlehurst-Schwartz (23-27), Lorenzo Reyes (23-27)

As expected. the Patriots are heavy favorites. Undefeated at home and last year’s representative in the Super Bowl, you can never count Tom Brady and his New England teammates out of anything.

The Patriots have an exciting offense and a defense that is built to get takeaways. They should match up well against Minnesota in several phases of the game and be a great test for the Vikings this week.

New England is the safe pick this week if you are put in a position where you need to make a decision on a winner, but you shouldn’t be too confident since Minnesota has their back to the wall and are ready to fight.

Next. 3 reasons the Vikings will beat the Patriots. dark

Who do you think will win in Week 13 between the Minnesota Vikings and New England Patriots? And which expert has the closest score prediction? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section!

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