Yes, Seattle was without running back Shaun Alexander and quarterback Matt Hasselbeck was knocked out early in the third quarter, but the Vikings’ victory at Seattle still surprised many people. It also made it a bit more difficult to predict what will happen tonight at the Metrodome.

The Vikings were 1-point underdogs to the Patriots as of this morning but a Minnesota victory certainly wouldn’t come as a surprise. One thing Brad Childress’ team has shown is that it has the ability to keep games close. This is due in large part to the fact Mike Tomin’s defense has played so well.

After tonight, the Vikings will enter a stretch of four games in which they should be favored in each. It begins on Sunday at 2-5 San Francisco. The next three games are Nov. 12 vs. Green Bay (3-4); Nov. 19 at Miami (1-6); and Nov. 26 vs. Arizona (1-7).

The Vikings come out of that stretch with a Dec. 3 meeting against Chicago at Soldier Field.

The Patriots, by the way, will be without starting right guard Stephen Neal and backup guard/center Russ Hochstein. The Boston Globe also reports safety Eugene Wilson and tight end Daniel Graham are out. Also the Globe reported that defensive lineman Richard Seymour (left elbow) traveled with the team to Minnesota.

This entry was posted on Monday, October 30th, 2006 at 3:20 pm and is filed under Main. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.