The Minnesota Vikings are 1-0, lead the league in scoring defense and are the only team not to allow a touchdown. The Patriots are 0-1 and alone in last place in the AFC East for the first time since 2000.
Oh yeah, quarterback Tom Brady’s passer rating (69.7) also is 44.1 points behind his former understudy and current Vikings starter Matt Cassel.
“That’s the NFL,” said fullback Jerome Felton, shaking his head before practice as the Vikings got ready to begin their week of practice for Sunday’s 1 p.m. home opener against the Patriots at TCF Bank Stadium. “But we know how quickly everything changes upside down.”
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer has reminded his players just how unusual the Patriots have been with Bill Belichick as their head coach and Brady as their quarterback.
“He said the last time they were 0-1, they went 14-1 the rest of the season,” linebacker Jasper Brinkley said.
They also won the Super Bowl that year, which was 2003. And if that’s not enough to guard against the potential for overconfidence (sounds odd when you’re talking about playing the Patriots, eh?), the Vikings also were made aware of the fact that Belichick is 34-4 in games following a loss, having dropped back-to-back games only four times since 2003.
“That was kind of a wake-up call right there, if we really needed one,” Brinkley said.
On paper at least, the matchup doesn’t appear as daunting as it did a week ago.
While beating the Rams 34-6 in St. Louis on Sunday, the Vikings ran for 186 yards on 30 carries (6.2) and had a league-high five sacks. Meanwhile, in a 33-20 loss at Miami, the Patriots gave up 191 yards on 38 carries (5.0) and surrendered as many second-half sacks (four) as they had first downs.
“It’s encouraging,” said defensive tackle Tom Johnson. “But at the same time, it’s the Patriots.”
Keys to the game: Minnesota’s five sacks at St. Louis are no aberration. Coach Mike Zimmer will keep the pressure on Tom Brady, who was sacked four times last week, the 10th time in 17 games he was sacked three or more times. Expect New England to slow the pace and simplify primary reads for Brady to raise the confidence of the collective offense before reverting to the no-huddle ways that led to the Patriots running more plays per game than any team in the NFL last season.
Minnesota’s team speed is not special and the Rams kept everything in front of them in Week 1 — playmaker Cordarrelle Patterson, who had a 67-yard touchdown run last week, had the only play over 18 yards. The Patriots will counter with smothering CB Darrelle Revis, who admittedly had an average effort in his New England debut last week.
Matchup to watch: Patriots LB Jerod Mayo vs. Vikings RB Adrian Peterson: Mayo had 12 tackles last week, but the numbers are inflated because of the way his defensive line wilted in the Miami heat. Peterson certainly is capable of gashing defenses all by himself. But the Patriots also have to be concerned with stopping Patterson as a runner. He had 102 yards on just three carries last week.
Player spotlight: Vikings DE Everson Griffen: A chess piece Zimmer will move from side to side to exploit favorable matchups, Griffen nabbed a $42.5 million deal in the offseason because of his pass-rush skills and showed them at St. Louis. He has 4.5 sacks in his last three games. Given New England’s protection problems, Brady will ID Griffen pre-snap.
Fast facts: The Patriots last began a season 0-2 in 2001, when Brady replaced Drew Bledsoe as starter in a Week 2 loss to the New York Jets. … Minnesota traded four picks to the Patriots to move into position to draft Patterson 29th in the 2013 draft.