FOXBORO — Tom Brady and the Patriots offense are still looking for that perfect game. At this point in the season, it’s fair to wonder if it’ll ever happen.
But after Sunday’s performance, it’s also fair to wonder if it even matters.
Brady and the Patriots had their struggles against a good Minnesota Vikings defense at Gillette Stadium, but it didn’t matter when you have a defense that’s playing this well. A career-best [...]
FOXBORO — Tom Brady and the Patriots offense are still looking for that perfect game. At this point in the season, it’s fair to wonder if it’ll ever happen.
But after Sunday’s performance, it’s also fair to wonder if it even matters.
Brady and the Patriots had their struggles against a good Minnesota Vikings defense at Gillette Stadium, but it didn’t matter when you have a defense that’s playing this well. A career-best performance by your fullback also helps.
In the end, the Patriots prevailed, 24-10, over a tough Vikings team and improved to 9-3.
Brady finished 24 of 32 for 311 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The offense was led by James Develin's two touchdowns. James White also added seven catches for 92 yards.
The Patriots started fast on Sunday, but it wasn’t always easy.
Following a Minnesota three-and-out, the Pats took an early 7-0 lead. Brady’s first pass of the game fell incomplete. It wasn’t a sign of things to come. Brady hit his next four targets for 70 yards on the opening driving. Highlights included an 18-yard pass to Chris Hogan on third down followed by a 24-yard pass play to Cordarrelle Patterson. Julian Edelman took the Pats to the goal line following a 14-yard rush.
Two plays later, Develin crashed into the end zone for a 1-yard touchdown run at 9:33 of the first quarter.
The defense held strong on the next series. Following a 32-yard run by Dalvin Cook, which put the Vikings at the New England 23, the unit didn’t break. A big sack by Adam Butler, for minus-8 yards, pushed Minnesota far enough back that it saved the Pats three points. With 5:31 left in the first, Vikings kicker Dan Bailey missed a 48-yard field goal attempt.
Points were hard to come by in the first half. Both defenses showed resiliency early. On the Patriots’ third drive, the Vikings bent plenty but refused to break. The Pats put together a 15-play drive, which soaked up 8:16 worth of time, but Brady & Co. stalled on the 1-yard line when his third-down pass to Edelman fell incomplete.
Stephen Gostkowski ended up hitting the 20-yard field goal to give the Patriots a 10-0 lead at 5:45 of the second quarter.
As good as the Patriots started, they ended the first half just as poorly, up only 10-7. After failing on fourth-and-1, the Patriots failed on third-and-1 on the ensuing series. The three-and-out gave the Vikings the ball back with a little less than two minutes before halftime. That’s all that Cousins needed.
The quarterback hit Stefon Diggs and Kyle Rudolph for 24 and 23 yards. Five plays later, Cousins hit Adam Thielen for a 5-yard touchdown with 15 seconds remaining in the half.
Things didn’t look much better for the Patriots offense in the second half.
The Pats opened the third quarter with a quick three-and-out. Their next drive was better, but maddening as the offense was flagged for four penalties, including the punt return. It was one-step forward and two back and seemed only fitting that the drive ended with Gostkowski missing a 48-yard field-goal try.
The Vikings put together a 12-play drive on the ensuing series to tie the score at 10-10. Minnesota converted two of three third downs to move the chains. Bailey capped the drive off with a 39-yard field goal at 2:20 of the third quarter.
The Patriots offense looked different the next time it stepped on the field. Four plays later, New England had a 17-10 lead.
At this point, Josh Gordon had been quiet, with zero targets. That changed and so did the offensive output. Brady started this series off with a 24-yard strike to Gordon. Following a 15-yard pass to Rob Gronkowski and a 12-yard run by James White, Gordon struck again. This time, Brady hit the receiver for a wide-open 24-yard touchdown with 35 seconds left in the third quarter.
The Patriots defense continued to play wonderfully, holding the Vikings to a three-and-out on the next series.
Before you knew it, the Pats had a 24-10 lead with 10:54 remaining. It started with a drive at midfield and Gordon was flagged for a 20-yard defensive pass-interference penalty on the first play. But four plays later, Gordon helped set up a first-and-goal, from the 2, after a 10-yard reception. Once again, Develin finished the drive.
The Brown University alum plowed in for a 2-yard touchdown run on the next play. The game marked Develin’s first-career two-touchdown performance.
The defense held strong after that. Even after a Brady interception, the defense took the ball away with Duron Harmon making a diving interception off Cousins in the end zone — a fitting play for a defense that picked the offense up all game.