National Football League
New England 30, Minnesota 7
When: 1:00 PM ET, Sunday, September 14, 2014
Where: TCF Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota
Temperature: 58°
Head Official: Tony Corrente
Attendance: 52350

Patriots 30, Vikings 7: Tom Brady threw for 149 yards and a touchdown as New England bounced back from an opening loss by crushing host Minnesota.

Defensive end Chandler Jones blocked a field-goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown while Stevan Ridley ran for 101 yards and a score for the Patriots (1-1). Devin McCourty, Darrelle Revis, Logan Ryan and Dominique Easley each recorded an interception and Jones joined Dont'a Hightower with two sacks to highlight the defensive effort.

Matt Cassel went 19-of-36 for 202 yards with one TD and four interceptions in his first start against his former team as the Vikings (1-1) were held to 54 yards rushing with Adrian Peterson inactive. Matt Asiata ran for 36 yards and added five catches for 48 yards and a TD in place of Peterson.

Minnesota scored on the opening possession as Cassel found Asiata for a 25-yard touchdown and forced a three-and-out on the Patriots' first possession before McCourty turned the momentum with a 60-yard interception return. Ridley punched it in with a 1-yard burst to tie it and a 48-yard field goal by Stephen Gostkowski put New England on top before the end of the first quarter.

Brady went 5-of-5 on a seven-play drive in the second quarter that ended with Julian Edelman’s 9-yard TD catch, and Jones broke through the line to block Blair Walsh's 48-yard field-goal attempt before scooping up the ball and rumbling for a 58-yard score with nine seconds left to send New England into the break up 24-7. The Vikings managed 35 yards in the second half as the Patriots closed it out.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Peterson was deactivated by Minnesota on Friday after news broke that the Pro Bowl RB was indicted on one count of negligent injury to a child in Texas. … New England CB Alfonzo Dennard, who participated fully in practice this week, was inactive due to a left shoulder injury after going through pregame tests with the training staff. … The Patriots were called for 15 penalties - their most ever under coach Bill Belichick, who became the sixth NFL coach to reach 200 career wins.
Top Game Performances
Rushing
New England   Minnesota
Stevan Ridley Player Matt Asiata
25 Attempts 13
101 Yards 36
4.0 Avg Yards 2.8
1 Touchdowns 0
16 Long 7
Receiving
New England   Minnesota
Julian Edelman Player Cordarrelle Patterson
6 Receptions 4
81 Yards 56
13.5 Avg Yards 14.0
1 Touchdowns 0
44 Long 26
Team Stats Summary
 
  Yards Scoring Defense
Team Tot Rus Pas TD FG INT Sck FF
New England 292 150 142 3 3 4 6.0 1
Minnesota 217 54 163 1 0 0 1.0 0
Upcoming Games
  • Minnesota will play their next game on the road against New Orleans. The Vikings have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • New England will play their next game at home against Oakland. The Patriots have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .500 after a loss.