In a time in which the NFL is facing more negative publicity than ever before, one of its marquee teams, the Patriots, are coming off their first week one loss in 11 years and are looking to avoid their first 0-2 start in more than a dozen.
They will kick off their week two matchup against the Vikings at 1pm on Sunday looking to remedy the many mistakes they made one week ago.
Last week’s loss was one made so by an inability to stop the run. After jumping out to a half time lead, the Patriots allowed 23 unanswered points. By game’s end they also had given up a total of 192 rushing yards.
Earlier this week, the Patriots came out in full force assuring their fans that they would try to lock down the middle of the field against the Vikings. Up until Friday evening, the big story was how Vince Wilfork would match up against power rusher Adrian Peterson.
365 pound Wilfork, a pure run stopper and ankle breaking Peterson a pure run producer were predicted to make this game a stunner. Then the news broke that Person had been indicted for child abuse. Within an hour the Vikings announced that he had been deactivated for the game against New England and would not even be present at kickoff.
Though Peterson will be a huge loss for the Vikings, their game will not be completely devoid of a rushing facet. The Patriots will still have to prove themselves against an all-star running back.
Cordarrell Patterson, a second year back out of Tennessee State was without a doubt the best player on the field in Minnesota’s week one game. He ran for 102 yards on just 3 carries, breaking tackles like he was coated in butter. His 67 yard touchdown run midway through the 3rd quarter saw him bust past nearly the entire St Louis Rams defense.
“Patterson is obviously an explosive guy; you see that in the return game," Belichick said this week. "He's a deep threat. He's dangerous with the ball in his hand, whether they hand it to him or throw it on a short pass."
Stopping the run will be key in this game against the Vikings. Should the Patriots shut down Patterson they will gain much more room for error both on the scoreboard and down the field.
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