Patriots-Vikings Week 13 Predictions
The New England Patriots will conclude their 2018 four-game set against the NFC North on Sunday afternoon when the Minnesota Vikings come to town for the first time since Halloween 2010.
The Patriots’ return to Foxboro comes after two road games and a bye week, and with Tom Brady and Rob Gronkowski seemingly close to 100 percent after both appeared on the injury report and missed practice time last week.
The Vikings, meanwhile, come to Foxboro after a 24-17 win over the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football last week, and with a 6-4-1 record on the year.
Here’s how the 98.5 The Sports Hub team sees the game going for the Patriots…
Ty Anderson (writer/columnist, 985TheSportsHub.com)
I can’t be the only one that watched last week’s Packers-Vikings game and walked away thoroughly unimpressed, right? I know the Vikings have some incredible talent on both sides of the ball, and the Diggs-Thielin combination might honestly be the best one-two punch in football. But this is a Patriots home game in December, and I feel like going against them in this scenario is kind of silly. It may feel weird to boil it down to this, sure, but I think it’s a real thing (shoutout to Turnstile). Also: I think the annual Patriots falling their way into the No. 1 seed in the AFC is upon us, and I’m simply preparing accordingly.
Patriots 34, Vikings 24.
Matt Dolloff (Writer/producer, 985TheSportsHub.com)
Just a gut feeling: the Vikings aren’t going to be ready to go, and the Patriots are going to do what they do virtually every game ever in December. This is truly the time of the season where the Patriots elevate themselves, so this will be the first indication whether this season really is different from years past. I’m not ready to bet against the December Pats. Just because the Vikings have more talent than the Patriots, a good quarterback, and a smart head coach, that means they basically won’t show up. They’ll get spooked by the ghosts of Foxboro. We’ll see how the Patriots do on the road in Miami and Pittsburgh, but in this game they take care of business in convincing fashion on their home field.
Patriots 33, Vikings 16.
Tony Massarotti (Felger and Mazz)
Sorry, but I don’t believe in this Patriots team – at least not yet. And the Vikes have more talent.
Vikings 27, Patriots 24.
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