Today at 1:00 p.m. ET the New England Patriots (0-1), who improbably find themselves in the AFC East cellar after one week, will head to Minnesota to take on the Vikings (1-0) on CBS. Live stream the game by clicking this link; Patriots fans can find the radio broadcast on 98.5 The Sports Hub, while Vikings fans may do likewise on KFAN 100.3.
"We've gotta do a better job, in general -- coaching, playing, managing the game and putting ourselves in better position than what we did offensively in the second half because we didn't do anything to help ourselves," New England offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels said after the Patriots blew a 10-point lead at halftime to the Dolphins.
The main culprit in the opening loss was an offensive line that allowed quarterback Tom Brady to be hit often, resulting in two lost fumbles. Overall Brady completed just over 51 percent of his passes, finding the end zone just once on a short pass to tight end Rob Gronkowski.
The Vikings, on the other hand, chewed up the St. Louis Rams in their opener, sacking Rams quarterbacks five times and intercepting them twice. The Patriots figure to be a much tougher matchup though, as first-year Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said.
"We're facing a huge challenge this week," Zimmer said. "We're so far in the infancy stages of what we're trying to do in this program, that we want to go out and perform well each and every week. This is the process that we're trying to build here."
The Vikings also have a former Patriot at quarterback in Matt Cassel-while he's not near Brady's level of talent or success, he says he learned quite a bit from the future Hall of Famer during his time in New England.
"There's a number of different things I took away from Tom, but one of the main things was his leadership and how he approached his leadership, his work ethic," Cassel said. "And each and every day, his accountability to knowing the offense and being accountable."
Patriots Injury Report
Robert Gronkowski
TE
Knee
Limited Participation in Practice
Probable
Jamie Collins
LB
Thigh
Did Not Participate In Practice
Questionable
Michael Buchanan
DE
Ankle
Limited Participation in Practice
Questionable
Christopher Jones
DT
Ankle
Limited Participation in Practice
Questionable
Sealver Siliga
DT
Hand
Limited Participation in Practice
Questionable
Ryan Wendell
C
Knee
Limited Participation in Practice
Questionable
Vikings Injury Report
| Adrian Peterson | RB | -- | Did Not Participate In Practice | -- |
| Brandon Watts | LB | Knee | Did Not Participate In Practice | Out |
| Mike Harris | T | Shoulder | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Charlie Johnson | G | Ankle | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Zachary Line | RB | Ankle | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Michael Mauti | LB | Foot | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Jabari Price | CB | Hamstring | Full Participation in Practice | Probable |
| Sharrif Floyd | DT | Shoulder | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Xavier Rhodes | CB | Groin | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
| Rodney Smith | WR | Hamstring | Limited Participation in Practice | Questionable |
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