Week 8 Game Recap: New England Patriots 31, Minnesota Vikings 7

What you need to know

New England Patriots

The Patriots totally dominated the Vikings and killed off the game in the third quarter.

Tom Brady had an exceptionally good night, completing 67.4% of his passes for 372 yards and four touchdowns. Brady threw touchdown passes to Reche Caldwell, Ben Watson, Troy Brown and Chad Jackson.

The Patriots’ running game saw very little action. It appeared to be a deliberate ploy to negate the strong run defense of the Vikings. Corey Dillon carried three times for a total of five yards and Laurence Maroney was held to 34 yards on eight attempts. Heath Evans broke a 35 yard run late in the game when the outcome was beyond doubt.

Ben Watson had his biggest game of the season, catching seven of his 13 targets for a total of 95 yards and a touchdown. Reche Caldwell was the leading wide receiver with seven catches for 94 yards and a touchdown. Doug Gabriel was also a factor, while Troy Brown and Chad Jackson also had touchdowns.

The Patriots had a good night on defense, posting four sacks, four interceptions, and holding the Vikings to 45 net rushing yards.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings allowed a touchdown on the first drive of the game and trailed 17-0 at the half.

Brad Johnson had a bad night and was at fault for all three of his interceptions. Marcus Robinson missed the game due to a back injury. The Vikings were passing for most of the game after falling behind early, and the Patriots’ defense was too strong.

Chester Taylor could not get anything going on the ground and only carried the ball ten times. He gave way to Mewelde Moore towards the end of the game when it was out of reach. Moore had given the team a glimmer of hope by scoring on a 71 yard punt return to make the score 17-7. He padded his statistics late in the game with a 50 yard reception on a screen pass.

What you ought to know

QB Tom Brady, Pass: 29 - 43 - 372 - 4 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - 1 - 0

Brady had an extremely good night, completing 67.4% of his passes. He began the game with six straight completions on the opening drive, ending it with a six yard touchdown pass to Reche Caldwell. Brady spread the ball around to ten different receivers. Ben Watson was his favorite option with 13 targets and it was Watson that gave the Patriots a 17-0 lead at the half after catching a nine yard pass from Brady. The Patriots made a number of big gains in the passing game and Brady found five different receivers for gains of 20 yards or more. Brady threw a seven yard touchdown pass to Troy Brown in the third quarter, and then completed the victory by finding Chad Jackson for a ten yard score. Matt Cassel took over at quarterback with under five minutes left in the game to mop things up.

QB Matt Cassel, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0

With the Patriots holding a commanding lead, Cassel saw action in the last five minutes of the game. He didn’t attempt a pass as the Patriots were trying to keep the clock running to kill off the game.

RB Laurence Maroney, Rush: 8 - 34 - 0, Rec: 2 - 33 - 0 (2 targets)

Maroney caught both of his targets. The first came on the Patriots’ third drive and he gained 20 yards to put the team in field goal range. He also had a 22 yard run on the Patriots’ final possession of the half. Maroney got the call inside the ten and took the ball to the one yard line, but the play was negated by a penalty. In the second half, Maroney contributed by returning a kick 77 yards to give the team excellent field position. His second half carries all went for short gains, but he did catch a pass for 13 yards and a first down. Although Maroney only touched the ball a total of ten times, he appeared to be the primary back for the Patriots in this game.

RB Corey Dillon, Rush: 3 - 5 - 0, Rec: 1 - 27 - 0 (1 targets)

Dillon was tackled for an eight yard loss on his first carry. The Patriots then switched tactics and started passing the ball. Dillon only had three carries in the entire game; two for a loss and one for a 15 yard gain and a first down. Dillon was targeted once in the passing game and he took it 27 yards for his longest gain of the day.

RB Kevin Faulk, Rush: 1 - 11 - 0, Rec: 2 - 12 - 0 (4 targets)

Faulk only carried the ball once, taking it 11 yards for a first down. He was targeted five times in the passing game, making two six yard receptions.

RB Heath Evans, Rush: 1 - 35 - 0

Evans had a carry near the end of the game and gained 35 yards on the play.

WR Reche Caldwell, Rec: 7 - 84 - 1 (8 targets)

Caldwell was very involved in the game in the first half. His first contribution was a six yard reception for a touchdown to cap the first drive. His next target also came in the end zone, but he had no chance to make the catch. Caldwell’s other three targets in the first half all resulted in first downs. He had gains of 11 yards, and then followed it up with gains of 34 yards and 12 yards on the Patriots’ final possession of the half. Caldwell caught passes for eight yards and 15 yards in the second half before making a reception for no gain which resulted in a fumble and a loss of possession. He was taken out of the game later with the Patriots well ahead. Caldwell saw more targets than any other Patriots’ wide receiver in the game and his role seems to be increasing.

WR Doug Gabriel, Rec: 5 - 83 - 0 (6 targets)

Gabriel began the game well by making a 45 reception and converting on third down and ten. He made a 16 yard reception on the very next play and the drive ended in a touchdown. Gabriel caught three other passes for small gains, but did drop one pass. He was only targeted once in the second half as the Patriots had a big lead.

WR Troy Brown, Rec: 2 - 12 - 1 (5 targets)

Brown saw less targets than both Caldwell and Gabriel. He caught two passes, including one for seven yards and a touchdown in the third quarter.

WR Jabar Gaffney, Rec: 1 - 4 - 0 (1 targets)

Gaffney made his first catch as a Patriot on his only target of the game, gaining four yards on the play.

WR Chad Jackson, Rec: 1 - 10 - 1 (3 targets)

Jackson entered the game in the second half. His first catch looked like it would be a short gain, but Jackson twisted away from a defender and then ran through two others to score on a ten yard reception. Jackson gained 33 yards on a catch during the following drive but the play was negated due to a holding penalty.

TE Ben Watson, Rec: 7 - 95 - 1 (13 targets)

Watson saw more targets than any other player in the game. He made catches of eight yards and 14 yards on the Patriots’ opening drive. Brady looked for him on the following drive but the pass was intercepted. Watson made a 40 yard reception on the Patriots’ third drive of the game and was close to breaking the TD saving tackle. He was targeted twice in the end zone in the first half; the first was over his head but the second was caught for a nine yard touchdown. Watson caught three of his five second half targets and remained very involved. The only negative was that he dropped two catchable balls in the game.

TE Dave Thomas, Rec: 1 - 12 - 0 (2 targets)

Thomas was targeted twice in the game. He made the first catch for a 12 yard gain and a first down. The second target was uncatchable.

TE Daniel Graham

Graham was inactive for the game.

PK Stephen Gostkowski 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points

Gostkowski made a 23 yard field goal and all four extra point attempts.

NE Rush Defense

The Patriots shut down Chester Taylor in the first half, holding him to 15 yards on seven carries. The Vikings were forced to abandon the run in the second half and they were held to 45 net rushing yards on the day.

NE Pass Defense

The Patriots were handed three interceptions on errant throws by Brad Johnson. The Vikings made their biggest gains near the end of the game with the Patriots content to run out the clock.

QB Brad Johnson, Pass: 20 - 33 - 185 - 0 TD / 3 INT, Rush: 1 - 9 - 0

Johnson did not play well. He was intercepted twice in the first half, and made several poor decisions. On one play he tried to go deep for Bethel Johnson and threw into triple coverage and was lucky that the pass fell incomplete. Johnson almost found Williamson for a 44 yard touchdown in the second half, but Williamson was unable to make the catch. Johnson was intercepted for a third time after being hit as he threw. He gave way to Brooks Bollinger for the final twelve minutes of the game with the Vikings down by 24.

QB Brooks Bollinger, Pass: 6 - 9 - 76 - 0 TD / 1 INT

Partly because of Johnson’s interceptions, Bollinger entered the game with twelve minutes remaining. He was sacked on his first three plays. Things improved after that, and he found Mewelde Moore for a 50 yard gain. Bollinger ended by throwing an interception and did not look comfortable at any stage.

RB Chester Taylor, Rush: 10 - 22 - 0, Rec: 3 - 27 - 0 (4 targets)

Taylor was ineffective when running the ball, gaining a total of 22 yards on ten carries. His longest run was six yards. He caught three of his four targets including one for a 20 yard gain. He gave way to Mewelde Moore near the end of the game with the Vikings trailing by 24.

RB Mewelde Moore, Rush: 2 - 9 - 0, Rec: 4 - 91 - 0 (6 targets)

Moore was targeted three times in the first half. The first pass was uncatchable, but he caught the other two for gains of ten yards and 17 yards and one first down. Moore carried the ball twice in the second half for a total of nine yards. He gave the Vikings a little hope by returning a punt for a 71 yard touchdown early in the second half. Moore also had a 50 yard reception in garbage time.

RB Tony Richardson, Rec: 2 - 9 - 0 (3 targets)

The fullback caught all three of his targets. He converted a third down with an eight yard reception with a good effort after contact. His other two catches were for short gains and one was negated by a penalty.

RB Artose Pinner, Rush: 2 - 5 - 0

Pinner was given two carries after the Vikings reached the Patriots’ ten yard line on their second drive. He gained a total of five yards and did not touch the ball for the remainder of the game.

WR Troy Williamson, Rec: 5 - 44 - 0 (9 targets)

Williamson was Brad Johnson’s favorite target. He was targeted four times in the first half, and caught three passes for a total of 21 yards. The other pass was intercepted. Johnson found him for a 13 yard gain on the Vikings’ opening drive of the second half. He then threw deep for Williamson and the ball was catchable, but Williamson could not make the reception. It would likely have resulted in a 44 yard touchdown. Williamson had one other catch in the game for ten yards and a first down.

WR Travis Taylor, Rec: 3 - 30 - 0 (5 targets)

Taylor was targeted once in the first half. He made the catch but it was ruled out due to offensive pass interference. He was later seen on the sidelines having his eye examined. He saw more action in the second half and caught three passes. Two were for first downs of 22 yards and nine yards.

WR Bethel Johnson, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (5 targets)

Johnson was involved early in the game, and made a 15 yard reception for a first down on the Vikings’ opening drive. Brad Johnson looked for him deep in the end zone and threw into triple coverage, but the pass fell incomplete. Johnson had no chance to make the catch. He caught one other pass for a three yard gain and was used to return kicks against his old team.

WR Billy McMullen, Rec: 2 - 15 - 0 (3 targets)

McMullen caught two of his three targets for a total of 15 yards and was used late in the game.

WR Marcus Robinson

Robinson was inactive for the game with a back injury.

TE Jermaine Wiggins, Rec: 4 - 26 - 0 (6 targets)

Wiggins made the Vikings’ first reception of the day, gaining ten yards and a first down. He was not targeted again in the first half. Wiggins caught three of his five second half targets for short gains and was the intended receiver when Brad Johnson threw his third interception of the day. Wiggins appeared to make another catch to convert on third down, but the pass was ruled incomplete. The Vikings went for it on fourth down and failed.

PK Ryan Longwell 0 - 0 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 1 points

Longwell made his one extra point attempt.

MIN Rush Defense

The Vikings hit Corey Dillon in the backfield for an eight yard loss on the Patriots’ opening play from scrimmage. The Patriots decided to switch to the passing game and only had 15 rushing attempts on the day. When they did run, they averaged 5.7 yards per carry.

MIN Pass Defense

The Vikings did not have much success against Tom Brady and the Patriots’ passing game. Brady found five different receivers for gains of 20 yards or more, and a sixth was ruled out by a penalty. The Vikings also surrendered four passing touchdowns and 345 net passing yards.