What we learned from the Vikings’ 20-12 preseason loss to the Patriots

In some ways, the Vikings’ second preseason game against the Patriots took second billing to the two days of joint practices the teams had at the Vikings’ facility this week. In their 20-12 loss to New England on Saturday, the Vikings’ backups didn’t do much to build on the momentum their starters generated in the second joint practice on Thursday.

Coach Kevin O’Connell had been particularly pleased with the Vikings’ execution during their 20-10 win over the Texans in the preseason opener; Saturday’s game was a different story. The Vikings were penalized eight times for 49 yards, while Sam Howell threw an interception, Lucky Jackson dropped a pass and Tai Felton fumbled a kick return that the Vikings recovered.

The Vikings had a chance to tie the game with three seconds left, but after Kyle Dugger intercepted Max Brosmer’s throw over the middle, Bryson Nesbit ripped the ball from Dugger’s hands and the Vikings recovered in the end zone. Officials ruled the recovery was a touchback, however, and the Patriots preserved the win.

The Vikings sat all of their starters after two days of joint practices against the Patriots, who put quarterback Drake Maye in the game with many of their starters to begin the day. Defensive backs coach Daronte Jones called the Vikings’ defense in the first half, while inside linebacker coach Mike Siravo called plays in the second half. On offense, coordinator Wes Phillips called the game, which enabled O’Connell to spend the third quarter on the Vikings’ broadcast discussing the game live.

Here are five things we learned from the Vikings’ 20-12 loss.

The Vikings started Howell and moved to Brett Rypien in the second quarter, with plans to give Max Brosmer the entire second half. “There’s a reason why we’re playing all three of them,” O’Connell said, adding the competition for the No. 2 QB spot is “still open.”

After completing 11 of his 13 passes for 105 yards last week, Howell was 1 of 5 for 13 yards, throwing an interception to Alex Austin while trying to evade K’Lavon Chaisson. O’Connell said he thought Howell was trying to get the ball out of bounds for an incompletion.

Brosmer got the entire second half at quarterback, but the Patriots’ pressure on the undrafted rookie out of Minnesota added some friction to his day. He was sacked four times while completing 15 of his 27 passes. After he threw behind Myles Price on third down while absorbing a hit in the red zone in the fourth quarter, a fourth-down delay of game penalty led the Vikings to bring out the field goal team rather than going for it and trying to get the game within four.

O’Connell again praised Brosmer’s decisiveness, and Brosmer showed it on his strike to Tim Jones’ outside shoulder against single coverage for a 28-yard gain in the fourth quarter. Brosmer’s 25-yard fourth-down completion to Jeshaun Jones, followed by his 22-yarder to Tim Jones, gave the Vikings a chance to try for the tying score, but he was hit one last time on his throw over the middle that ended with Dugger’s interception.

“What I loved about Max was, there were some breakdowns up front, and maybe he couldn’t progress and read through concepts, but he plays with very fast eyes and very rarely puts the ball in harm’s way when he’s doing it, which is a unique trait,” O’Connell said. “That was a fourth-down dagger throw to Jeshaun; I mean, that’s about as stacked against it as you can be, and he throws that well before the pattern has declared. Just things like that, he shows consistently, and that’s why he’s getting the reps that he is.”

Felton got the first chance as the Vikings’ punt returner with Rondale Moore out for the season with a knee injury, but his early gaffe came as a kick returner. He fumbled a return when former Gopher Jack Gibbens stripped him of the ball. Then, after Felton forced a fumble as a punt gunner last week, he lost contain on Marcus Jones’ first-quarter punt return, which went for 37 yards and set up the Patriots’ first TD.

Just before halftime, the Vikings gave up a 62-yard return to Jeremiah Webb along the Patriots’ sideline, as several Vikings players missed tackles to allow him to reach Minnesota territory before the clock ran out on the half. Then, in the second half, Dwight McGlothern was called for going out of bounds on a punt return, the second time the Vikings were flagged for it in the game.

“I told them last night, and I told them again today, when I knew we’d be playing some starters on the other side, that the kicking game would have to be a determining factor,” O’Connell said. “We got that big return. We just gave up a few as well, and we’ll have to take a look at that. We had a couple silly penalties running out of bounds that we can get cleaned up.”

Josh Dobbs, the Vikings’ impromptu hero for two weeks in 2023, is now a Patriots backup, and Dobbs had the most productive stretch of the day for their offense. He completed 11 of his 16 passes, hitting Elton Chism III for 33 yards from a clean pocket before he found Chism for a 12-yard TD on third-and-9 in the second quarter. Dobbs, like the rest of the Patriots’ quarterbacks, wasn’t sacked, though the Vikings registered seven QB hits (including another three from edge rusher Gabriel Murphy).

When Zavier Scott was stopped short of a first down in the second quarter, the Vikings got a taste of the NFL’s new virtual measurement system. The broadcast showed O’Connell hovering over a tablet with line judge Quentin Givens, watching a clip of the measurement and smiling (perhaps at the fact that this is what we’ve come to). The measurement found Scott to be three inches short of a first down, and when Rypien threw incomplete for Scott while escaping pressure on third down before missing Thomas on fourth down, the Vikings’ drive ended without points.

“I’m just trying to find out the fundamentals of it as much as anything,” O’Connell said. “I think the officials are getting great work at it, and it seems to be functioning at a good level to take it on into the season. Anything to get it right. Whatever it is, let’s just get it right.”