Suds and duds

Was this prime-time football or a preseason game? As the fourth quarter arrived Monday night at the Metrodome, more than half of a sellout crowd had spilled into the parking lots.

Empty purple seats were abundant with more than 10 minutes remaining. Backup quarterback Brooks Bollinger had replaced starter Brad Johnson. The New England Patriots were still rolling down the field with their rarely used shotgun offense, as if they needed to work on a few more things before the regular season began.

This was no exhibition, however. The Vikings absorbed their worst home loss in five seasons, a complete 31-7 thrashing from the Patriots.

The Vikings hadn't lost this thoroughly at home since a 33-3 loss to Jacksonville on December 23, 2001. Their previously stingy defense gave up 372 passing yards and four touchdowns to New England quarterback Tom Brady, and the Vikings offense went without a touchdown for the third time this season.

"That's probably one of the most embarrassing games I've ever been a part of," Johnson said.

The veteran starter was benched after throwing his third interception with 14 minutes, 33 seconds left in the game. "I think they are a very good team," Johnson added. "They proved it tonight. I didn't play a good game, and we didn't play a good game."

Yes, the Vikings appeared tight and on their heels from the beginning, when the Patriots took the opening possession 86 yards in seven plays and scored on Brady's 6-yard TD pass to Reche Caldwell. Coaches and players said they had scouted the Patriots' previous escapades into open- backfield sets, but the Vikings appeared helpless to stop it.

"Unreal," cornerback Antoine Winfield said. "I've never been a part of something like that. No matter what we did, [Brady] found every weakness we had. Amazing."

Brady completed 29 of 43 passes and the Patriots ran the ball only 15 times against the NFL's top-ranked rush defense. New England jumped out to a 10-0 lead in the first quarter and finished the game with 430 yards of offense.

"Quite honestly," said defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin, "I wish they had done something that we weren't prepared for, because that would give us an excuse. They had done this before. They just did a great job executing it. Anything I say other than complimenting them for the way they played would be a disservice to them."

Despite the defensive lapse, coach Brad Childress said he was more upset with Johnson's three interceptions (Bollinger also threw one late). Childress was particularly incensed by Johnson's overthrow of running back Mewelde Moore near the goal line in the first quarter. Rodney Harrison intercepted, denying the Vikings a chance to score when a touchdown would have tied the score 7-7.

"I wasn't happy with that 86-yard drive to start off," Childress said, "but our defense did get the ball back to us with the chance to go 7-7. You're not going to win many games with four turnovers. You've got to take care of the football. It all starts with that."

Childress, who said he "anticipates" Johnson will retain his starting job, repeated his mantra that Monday represented only 1/16th of the season.

He pointed out that last week's victory over Seattle and Sunday's matchup at San Francisco are NFC games and therefore more important for playoff and tiebreaker scenarios. "That was a good team we played," Childress said. "But we're a good team, too. I firmly believe that."

Trailing 17-0 at halftime, the Vikings briefly showed life when Moore returned a Josh Miller punt 71 yards for a touchdown. But former Gophers star Laurence Maroney responded with a 77-yard return on the ensuing kickoff; three plays later, the Patriots made it 24-7 on Brady's 7-yard touchdown pass to receiver Troy Brown.

It was a continuation of the first half, when the Patriots forced the Vikings into their least effective defense: a nickel lineup that put linebackers Napoleon Harris and E.J. Henderson in their least favorable position. The Patriots capitalized, moving 86 yards on their first series and 93 yards in eight plays on their third possession.

New England led 10-0 by that point -- with 12:09 left in the second quarter -- and it had become clear the Vikings offense had not revolutionized itself enough to score regularly.

Darren Sharper had intercepted Brady on New England's second series, giving the Vikings possession on the Patriots 45-yard line. But Johnson's first interception, the overthrow of Moore, ended that drive.

While Brady was completing 17 of 25 passes for 257 yards in the first half, the Vikings were having trouble getting into the end zone and Johnson was struggling to get the ball downfield. He dramatically underthrew Williamson on a deep pass in the second quarter, enabling Chad Scott to intercept at the Patriots 29-yard line.

Kevin Seifert • kseifert@startribune.com