New England Patriots 24, Minnesota Vikings 10: Vikings come up small in big game

Despite the bevy of injuries to their secondary, the Minnesota Vikings managed to hang with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots for much of the afternoon at Gillette Stadium, but in the end the defending AFC Champions just had too much firepower.

After the Vikings tied the game at 10-10 late in the third quarter, the Patriots put up 14 quick points to take a commanding lead, and the Vikings couldn’t overcome the deficit, falling by a final score of 24-10.

The Patriots marched down the field on their first drive, with James Develin going over from one yard out to give the home team a quick 7-0 lead. Stephen Gostkowski added a 20-yard field goal in the second quarter to make it 10-0, but the Vikings came back at the end of the first half, with Kirk Cousins and company putting together a very nice drive to cut into the New England lead. The drive ended with Cousins finding Adam Thielen for a 5-yard score to make the deficit 10-7 at halftime.

The game was scoreless for much of the third quarter, but the Vikings got a Dan Bailey field goal from 39 yards out with a couple of minutes left in the quarter to make the score a 10-10 tied. New England marched straight down the field after that, however, taking just four plays and less than two minutes for Brady to find Josh Gordon for a 24-yard touchdown to give the Patriots the lead back at 17-10.

New England added to their lead in the fourth quarter, as Develin’s second touchdown of the game gave the Patriots a two-touchdown lead at 24-10. Minnesota pushed a drive into New England territory just after the midway point of the third quarter, but turned it over on downs. Shortly after that, however, Brady was intercepted by Eric Kendricks to get the ball right back!

Unfortunately, the Vikings couldn’t take advantage of their good fortune, as Cousins’ pass in the end zone for Aldrick Robinson was bobbled into an interception for Duron Harmon.

The Vikings never really threatened again, as the Patriots got the football back and slowly and methodically ran the time off of the clock. Despite their efforts, the Vikings left Foxborough with a 24-10 loss.

Cousins didn’t have a great game, by and large. He completed 32-of-43 passes, but put up just 201 yards, and threw one touchdown pass to go along with a pair of interceptions. The drive to end the first half was impressive, but the offense never really got going after that.

Minnesota tried to get Dalvin Cook involved, as he carried the ball nine times for 84 yards. He had several impressive runs, but the Vikings basically abandoned the run in the second half. Latavius Murray chipped in with 11 yards on four carries.

On the receiving side, Stefon Diggs led the Vikings with 49 yards on five catches. Kyle Rudolph had 38 yards on three grabs, and Aldrick Robinson put up 37 yards on three catches of his own. Cook had eight receptions, but turned them into just 22 yards. Adam Thielen had a quiet day as well, as he had 28 yards and a touchdown on five catches.

The Vikings fall to 6-5-1 on the season, and face the next biggest game of the year on Monday night when they’ll travel to face the Seattle Seahawks. The Patriots move their record to 9-3, and they’ll face the Miami Dolphins in south Florida next Sunday.

The Minnesota Vikings fall to the New England Patriots in Foxborough by a final score of 24-10. Thanks to everyone that got their coverage of this week’s game right here at The Daily Norseman!