3 things to know about the Vikings

The Vikings are a tough team to get an evaluation on and while they only have a few weapons on their teams, these weapons can hurt the Patriots significantly if they do not account for them. There are three key players that the Patriots will need to game plan against if they want to win this game.

1. Cordarrelle Patterson- Patterson is one of the most exciting players in the game right now. He can make plays anywhere on the field, and the Vikings try anyway possible to get the ball in his hands. Last week against the St. Louis Rams he had three carries for 102 yards and touchdown, other then the three carries he only had three receptions. So it will be fun to watch how they plan to contain him this week, especially on special teams where he is always a threat in the return game.

2. Adrian Peterson-  He has been one of the best backs in the NFL for quite some time now and shows no sign of slowing down. He has been the Vikings work horse back for the past seven years, and will get the majority of the carries in this game. Last week he carried the ball twenty one times for seventy five yards. With the way Knowshon Moreno ran the ball against the Patriots it has to be worrisome for the Patriots to try to contain a perennial Pro Bowler like Adrian Peterson. Containing him be a huge factor in whether the Patriots are able to pull out a victory on Sunday.

3. Anthony Barr-  The rookie out of UCLA could become a real problem for the Patriots this week if they can't fix the problems along the offensive line. Barr is touted as one of the premier defenders coming out of the draft and he will look to cause problems for the Patriots. He had seven tackles last week against St. Louis and will be a player to keep an eye on throughout the game.


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