2. Brosmer navigates pressure in second half
Brosmer got the entire second half at quarterback, but the Patriots’ pressure on the undrafted rookie out of Minnesota added some friction to his day. He was sacked four times while completing 15 of his 27 passes. After he threw behind Myles Price on third down while absorbing a hit in the red zone in the fourth quarter, a fourth-down delay of game penalty led the Vikings to bring out the field goal team rather than going for it and trying to get the game within four.
O’Connell again praised Brosmer’s decisiveness, and Brosmer showed it on his strike to Tim Jones’ outside shoulder against single coverage for a 28-yard gain in the fourth quarter. Brosmer’s 25-yard fourth-down completion to Jeshaun Jones, followed by his 22-yarder to Tim Jones, gave the Vikings a chance to try for the tying score, but he was hit one last time on his throw over the middle that ended with Dugger’s interception.
“What I loved about Max was, there were some breakdowns up front, and maybe he couldn’t progress and read through concepts, but he plays with very fast eyes and very rarely puts the ball in harm’s way when he’s doing it, which is a unique trait,” O’Connell said. “That was a fourth-down dagger throw to Jeshaun; I mean, that’s about as stacked against it as you can be, and he throws that well before the pattern has declared. Just things like that, he shows consistently, and that’s why he’s getting the reps that he is.”
3. Fireworks, headaches in the return game
Felton got the first chance as the Vikings’ punt returner with Rondale Moore out for the season with a knee injury, but his early gaffe came as a kick returner. He fumbled a return when former Gopher Jack Gibbens stripped him of the ball. Then, after Felton forced a fumble as a punt gunner last week, he lost contain on Marcus Jones’ first-quarter punt return, which went for 37 yards and set up the Patriots’ first TD.
Just before halftime, the Vikings gave up a 62-yard return to Jeremiah Webb along the Patriots’ sideline, as several Vikings players missed tackles to allow him to reach Minnesota territory before the clock ran out on the half. Then, in the second half, Dwight McGlothern was called for going out of bounds on a punt return, the second time the Vikings were flagged for it in the game.
Price had an 81-yard return in the fourth quarter to put the Vikings at the Patriots 8, before Will Reichard’s final field goal.