Two weeks ago I made my pick for the Bills/Lions game: Bills in a blowout. Last week I made my pick for the Giants/Cowboys game: Cowboys give the Giants their second of eight straight losses. Everything predicted in those posts has come true. So, this week I thought I would take a look at the third Thanksgiving Day game, the Patriots at the Vikings.
New England Patriots
A wise man once said: “You have to think Belichick is going to have things sorted out by week 5, right?” The Pats started out 1-3, not good. But, week 5 the Lions came to town and helped them get things sorted out. There isnt a single team in the league with more wins from week 5-11. Sitting at 6-4 (probably inevitable) New England is currently tied for last in the AFC East, and also only a game behind first. They have been crawling their way up the power rankings from a low of 27th in week 4 to 12th this week. So, with the exception of a bizarre loss to the Bears week 7 the Patriots are legit.
Minnesota Vikings
Weve been talking a lot about the Vikings this season. Are they legit? Theyre 8-2, second best in the league. They beat the Bills and the Dolphins, who are both confirmed legit. They have been in the top 3 in our power rankings since week 3. But are they over rated? Five of their wins are against teams who are under 500. They got destroyed by Dallas last week. They, despite being 8-2, have a negative point differential. How is that even possible!?
Patriots vs Vikings – Patriots
The Cowboys exposed the Vikings last week. They figured out how to shut this team down AND put up big points against them. You know Belichick has watched all the tapes and knows exactly what to do. Sure its a short week but the Patriots will be ready. It wont be easy and we certainly arent going to see a blow out like last week but New England will get their 7th win, take 2nd place in the AFC East. It really wont affect the Vikings chance at the division. They only need two more wins to clinch, but it will expose them further and they wont make it out of the wildcard round this post season. (Bonus prediction!)
