What You Need to Know About the New England Patriots vs the Minnesota Vikings

Editor’s Note: Information and photos used in this article were provided by Patriots Media Relations

It’s week two of the NFL regular season and the New England Patriots are ready to put their week one loss against the Dolphins behind them.

This Sunday, the Patriots are on the road for the second straight week when they travel to Minnesota to face the Vikings after opening the season at Miami. It is the ninth time in New England team history that they will open the season with two road games (1964,- 1968, 1984, 1996 and 2003) and the first since 2003.

The game will be played at TCF Bank Stadium, the home of the University of Minnesota football team. The Vikings will play there for the 2014 and 2015 seasons while their new stadium is being built. The last time the Patriots played at a college football stadium was in 2002 when the Patriots played the Bears on Nov. 10 at Champaign, Ill., the home of the University of Illinois, while the Bears’ stadium was being renovated.

To help you get ready for the game, here is what you need to know!

Broadcast Information

TELEVISION: This week’s game will be broadcast by CBS and can be seen on WBZ-TV Channel 4 in Boston. Ian Eagle will handle play-by-play duties with Dan Fouts as the color analyst. Jenny Dell will work from the sidelines. The game will be produced by Mark Wolff and directed by Bob Fishman.

LOCAL RADIO: 98.5 FM, The Sports Hub, is the flagship station for the Patriots Radio Network. Play-by-play broadcaster Bob Socci will call the action along with former Patriots quarterback Scott Zolak, who will provide color analysis.

Series History

The Patriots and Vikings will meet for the 12th time overall and for the first time since the 2010 season when the Patriots defeated the Vikings, 28-18, on Oct. 31 at Gillette Stadium.

The game will be played at TCF Bank Stadium, the home of the University of Minnesota football team. The Vikings will play there for the 2014 and 2015 seasons while their new stadium is being built. The last time the Patriots played at a college football stadium was in 2002 when the Patriots played the Bears on Nov. 10 at Champaign, Illinois, the home of the University of Illinois, while the Bears’ stadium was being renovated.

The Patriots first visit to Minnesota was played outside on Oct. 27, 1974, when the Patriots played at Metropolitan Stadium, a 17-14 New England win.

The Patriots are 2-2 overall in games played in Minnesota. The last time the Patriots played in Minnesota was a 2006 Monday Night Football game on Oct. 30, with the Patriots claiming a 31-7 victory. In the 2006 game, Tom Brady completed 29-of-43 passes for 372 yards and four touchdowns, and LB Tully Banta-Cain celebrated the birth of his first child, and then that night set a then career-high with 21⁄2 sacks.

The Patriots are 5-2 overall against Minnesota in home games with a 0-1 record at Harvard Stadium, a 3-1 record at Foxboro Stadium and a 2-0 record at Gillette Stadium.

Two of the more memorable games were a 1994 Patriots win and the 2006 Monday Night Football win. The Patriots entered the 1994 game with a 3-6 record before overcoming a 20-0 deficit for a 26-20 overtime win that sparked a seven-game winning streak and a 10-6 record to earn a playoff berth. Patriots quarterback Drew Bledsoe set NFL records with 45 completions and 70 attempts while passing for a team-record 426 yards in that game.

Last Time They Met

This will be the first meeting between the two teams since the Patriots beat the Vikings 28-18 on Oct, 31, 2010.

A 65-yard touchdown pass from QB Tom Brady to WR Brandon Tate on a broken play and the first career two-touchdown game by RB BenJarvus Green-Ellis helped push the Patriots to a 28-18 win at home against the visiting Minnesota Vikings.

Green-Ellis had a career day, finishing with 112 yards on 17 carries for a 6.6-yard average along with a 13-yard touchdown run in the third quarter and a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. Tate’s 65-yard touchdown was his first NFL receiving touchdown. He registered his first 100-yard receiving day after finishing with three receptions for 101 yards.

After a scoreless first quarter, Minnesota took a 7-0 lead on the first play of the second quarter to complete a 12-play drive. New England responded with an 8-play, 75-yard drive that was culminated when RB Danny Woodhead took a direct snap and ran the ball in for a 3-yard touchdown. Rookies Bran- don Spikes and Jermaine Cunningham combined to stop Minnesota RB Adrian Peterson on a fourth-and-goal situation from the New England 1-yard line with 1:07 left in the second quarter, keeping the Vikings from taking a lead and preserving a 7-7 halftime tie.

After Minnesota opened the second half with a drive that ended in a field goal for a 10-7 advantage, Brady scrambled following heavy pressure from the Vikings and connected with Tate on a play that resulted in a 65-yard touchdown to give the Patriots a 14-10 lead. Later in the third quarter, rookie CB Devin McCourty had a game-changing play when he intercepted a Brett Favre pass intended for WR Percy Harvin at the Patriots’ 26-yard line and returned it 37 yards to the Vikings’ 37-yard line. That play helped set up a 4-play, 37-yard drive that ended in a 13-yard touchdown run by Green-Ellis for a 21-10 lead.

Minnesota closed the Patriots lead to 21-18 with 7:34 left in regulation. Favre left the game with an injury after the Vikings reached the New England 3-yard line, and backup QB Tavaris Jackson threw a 1-yard touchdown pass on his first pass and a 2-point play on his second play, but he did not get the ball back until 1:56 left to play.

Green-Ellis gained 62 yards on seven carries on the Patriots’ final fourth quarter drive that extended a 3-point lead to a 10-point lead when Green-Ellis scored on a 2-yard run to give the Patriots a 28-18 lead.

Connections

New England Ties

• Vikings G Vladimir Ducasse was born in Port Au Prince, Haiti before moving to Connecticut with his brother, Macarthur, in 2002 to live with his aunt and uncle. He started 20 straight games at Stamford (Conn.) HS, where he was named first-team All-Fairfield County. Ducasse played collegiately at the University of Massachusetts, where he was a full-time starter at left tackle in his junior and senior seasons and earned first-team All-America honors by the Associated Press in 2009.
• Vikings C John Sullivan was named Gatorade’s Connecticut Player of the Year as a senior at Greenwich (Conn.) HS, leading the team to a 12-1-1 mark and a berth in the state title game. Sullivan also won three state heavyweight wrestling championships.
• Vikings DT Shamar Stephen played collegiately at the University of Con- necticut, where he started all 12 games as a senior captain in 2013, earning Team MVP and All-American Athletic Conference second-team honors.

Minnesota Ties

• Patriots DL Zach Moore attended Concordia University in St. Paul, Minn., where he played in 39 games and set school records with 33 sacks and six forced fumbles. Moore was the first player in Concordia-St. Paul history to be invited to the NFL Scouting Combine and drafted into the league.

Former Patriots

• Vikings QB Matt Cassel was originally drafted by New England in the seventh round (230th overall) of the 2005 NFL Draft. He started 15 games for the Patriots in 2008 while filling in for injured QB Tom Brady and completed 327 of 516 passes for 3,693 yards and 21 touchdowns.
• Vikings defensive line coach Andre Patterson served in the same capacity for the Patriots in 1997.

Former Vikings

• Patriots defensive assistant Brendan Daly was most recently the defensive line coach for the Vikings from 2012-13, and had previously served as the team’s defensive assistant/defensive line coach from 2006-08.

Hometown Ties

• Patriots WR Kenbrell Thompkins and Vikings QB Teddy Bridgewater both attended Miami (Fla.) Northwestern HS, where Bridgewater took over starting quarterback duties as a sophomore in 2008 after Thompkins gradu- ated.

Former NFL Teammates

• Patriots WR Brandon LaFell and Vikings CB Captain Munnerlyn played together for the Carolina Panthers from 2010-13.
• Patriots offensive line coach Dave DeGuglielmo coached Vikings C Joe Berger from 2009-10 while serving as offensive line coach for the Dolphins. DeGuglielmo also tutored Vikings G Vladimir Ducasse in 2012 while he was offensive line coach for the Jets.

Former College Teammates

• Patriots DL Dominique Easley and Vikings DT Sharrif Floyd were teammates on the defensive line at Florida from 2010-12.
• H Patriots LB Darius Fleming, Vikings S Harrison Smith, S Robert Blan- ton and TE Kyle Rudolph were teammates at Notre Dame from 2008-10. Fleming, Smith and Blanton also played together in 2011, when Rudolph declared early for the NFL Draft.
• H Patriots C Bryan Stork (2009-13), Vikings QB Christian Ponder (2006- 10), CB Xavier Rhodes (2009-12) and WR Rodney Smith (2009-12) played together at Florida State.
• H Patriots DT Sealver Siliga and Vikings RB Matt Asiata were teammates at Utah from 2008-10.