Minnesota Vikings Ups and Downs: Week 13 vs New England Patriots

Overall impression from Week 13

When the schedule was released and fans started to guess what the record of the Minnesota Vikings would be at the end of the season, it would be difficult to find anyone who thought that New England would be a victory.

Still, despite problems on the offensive line and the cornerbacks struggling to stay on the field, the Vikings were still competitive against a quarterback they have never beaten in a stadium where the Patriots haven’t lost a single game all season.

Offensively, the creativity wasn’t great. Limited by the ability of their offensive line, Minnesota still found some success on the ground but didn’t continue to test New England on the ground as much as they could have. Thirteen rushes for 95 yards is what you’d expect in a game where the team was down multiple scores, but that was never really the case…which makes the decision to stop running confusing.

The Patriots made a point to stop Adam Thielen in the passing game, but he still hauled in a touchdown. Kirk Cousins threw to him ten times during the game, but only caught five with one being a pretty bad drop. Speaking of Cousins, his two interceptions didn’t help the team’s efforts either and his decision-making at times was questionable.

Defensively, Minnesota looked pretty good considering their opponent. New England ran the ball 39 times during the game for 160 yards and two touchdowns and passed the ball 32 times for 311 yards and another score.

Getting stops on third down wasn’t great for the Vikings this week, with seven of the Patriots 14 attempts being converted and their only fourth down try of the game succeeding too. An excellent mix of runs, short passes, screens, and long passes kept Minnesota wondering what was next.

As a whole, this wasn’t an encouraging game for Vikings fans, but it also shouldn’t have been to crushing of an outcome. And thanks to the Giants beating the Bears this week, the sting got taken out of the loss a little more.

Next week, the Minnesota Vikings hit the road again to take on the Seattle Seahawks in a game that becomes even more important when it comes to the playoff picture. Don’t miss that game on Sunday, Dec. 9, 2018!