The New England Patriots are 0-1, while the Minnesota Vikings are 1-0. Few expected that would be the case heading into the second week of the season, but New England was caught seemingly unawares by the Miami Dolphins, while the Vikings easily handled the Shaun Hill-led St. Louis Rams.
Vikings vs. Patriots odds 2014: New England favored, expected to avoid 0-2 start
The Patriots are looking to avoid an 0-2 start for the first time since 2001, and Vegas seems to think they will.
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Now, the Patriots are trying to avoid the first 0-2 start of the Tom Brady era (the last one was all the way back in 2001) and most are of the opinion that they'll manage to do so. Brady and the Patriots struggled against the Dolphins -- New England had a massively unbalanced offense, with Brady attempting over 50 passes -- but Minnesota is without Adrian Peterson and Matt Cassel isn't on the level of Ryan Tannehill.
The Vikings looked solid offensively in Week 1, and wide receiver Cordarrelle Patterson was a big reason for that. He'll likely take some more carries out of the backfield against the Patriots, but he'll have to contend with a secondary that includes Darrelle Revis if he's planning on catching any passes.
Unsurprisingly, the Patriots opened as 4.5-point favorites over the Vikings, according to OddsShark. That line has moved significantly throughout the week, with some sites having New England favored by just three points and others having them favored by a full touchdown. The over/under for the game opened at 48 points, and it’s still about there on most books.
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