Tom Brady bests old friend as he and coach set records: Patriots defeat Vikings 30-7

In a game of inches, the Patriots won their game against the Vikings by a mile.

With their identity as a team suddenly under question, the Patriots went to Minnesota knowing a win was necessary. Furthermore, though the game featured a warm reunion of old friends in Tom Brady and Matt Cassel, it soon turned cutthroat with emotions running high and big plays bountiful. 

Beginning with the defense, the Patriots came into this game with the number one priority of shutting down the Vikings big playmakers. Even after Adrian Peterson was deactivated following his arrest for child abuse Friday, that was still true. Though the attention had shifted it was still powerful in its direction at wide receiver Cordarrell Patterson. They stacked the line and rejoiced as big bodies like Jarod Mayo and Vince Wilfork clogged up the middle portions of the field with ease. Furthermore, tight coverage by the cornerbacks helped break up passes to Patterson before they could even get to him.

New England limited Patterson to just 4 receptions for 56 yards and 0 touchdowns thrown by Cassel. 

However as the Patriots also knew prior to kickoff, Patterson is the kind of player that can do more than just catch passes. Since joining the league a year ago, he has become one of the best kick returners in football. In knowing that, the Patriots and their kicker Stephan Gostkowski were prepared and fully capable of limiting any chance the Vikings star got to make any more big plays.

Gostkowski was kicking shots into the stands all afternoon allowing for just one return by Patterson. That return went for just 8 yards though and actually resulted in Goskowski’s best net yardage on a kick all game.  Additionally, Goskowski was greatly helpful to the Patriots in their offensive game. His three field goals and three PAT’s helped keep the game out of reach of the Vikings.

Among the other players whose play the Patriots were the beneficiaries of were Devin McCourty who intercepted a pass from Cassel and then returned it for 60 yards, Julian Edelman who was dominant in his first good game this season, and Stephan Ridley who produced a reassuring 101 yards rushing in the game. 

All and all, accurate throws by Tom Brady, 81 receiving yards by Edelman, 4 interceptions of Matt Cassell and a shutdown run defense helped even the Patriots record at 1-1. 

Beyond that, the brilliant game was even more so for stone faced Bill Belichick and his partner for all time in Brady. Though the pair’s record this season is mediocre, both of them hit monumental milestones for wins Sunday. Belichick became the 6th coach in NFL history to record 200 wins while Brady’s 149th win put him third on the all-time wins list for quarterbacks.