The Vikings moved to 9-2 on the season after taking down the Patriots in the final game of the NFL’s Thanksgiving triple-header, 33-26.
After being held to field goals in Week 11, both of these offenses wasted no time getting the end zone to begin this game. Minnesota needed just eight plays to travel 80 yards to score a touchdown on the opening drive of the night. Then, New England matched that score with one of its own as Mac Jones connected with Nelson Agholor for a 34-yard touchdown. From there, these offenses continued to match one another throughout the first half and found themselves knotted at 16 at the break.
New England opened up the final half with a 75-yard touchdown drive to go up by seven. It didn’t take long for Minnesota to bring the game back to even as Kene Nwangwu ran back a 97-yard kickoff for a touchdown.
It was 26-all at the beginning of the fourth quarter, and it was at that point where the Vikings began to pull away. A penalty on New England for running into the kicker gave Minnesota new life on a third-and-4 punt and they cashed in. Two plays after the penalty, Cousins completed a 36-yard pass to Justin Jefferson and then a 15-yard touchdown to Adam Thielen to take and hold onto the lead.
Kirk Cousins finished 30-of-37 for 299 yards with three TDs and an interception. Justin Jefferson was his go-to target and the star wideout had 9 catches for 139 yards and a touchdown, breaking a record held by Randy Moss. Meanwhile, Mac Jones was 28-of-39 for a season-high 382 yards with a pair of TDs and no interceptions.
From here, the Patriots will head back to Foxborough and gear up for another Thursday night game as they’ll host the Buffalo Bills for their first meeting of the season. As for the Vikings, they’ll hang around U.S. Bank Stadium and prepare for the New York Jets.
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