Patriots vs. Vikings Thanksgiving: Strong Ties, How to Watch, Betting Odds

The Patriots and Vikings celebrate Thanksgiving together on Thursday at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.

The Minnesota Vikings host the New England Patriots on Thursday as both teams celebrate Thanksgiving on the football field.

Although they reside in separate conferences, the two teams have a very close tie to one another.

During Vikings coach Kevin O'Connell's brief playing career, his first regular-season action came in a relief appearance at quarterback for the Patriots in a rare lopsided loss for New England coach Bill Belichick.

The Patriots had a bye the following week, and O'Connell watched as Belichick took that loss and turned it into a win the following game. Belichick took that 2008 squad to 11-5, despite the loss of Tom Brady for the year in the season opener to a knee injury.

via ESPN

O'Connell now finds himself in a similar situation this week following Minnesota's 40-3 loss to the Cowboys on Sunday as the Vikings host the Patriots. O'Connell looks at his biggest test against the coach he learned so much from.

"That sticks with me to this very day, just as an example of what it's like to coach in those moments where adversity hits and how you need to be at your best for your team," O'Connell said. "I still have old notebooks with team meeting notes and things like that that are always great to go back and look through."

The Vikings hope to bounce back from that embarrassing home loss to the Cowboys and re-solidify themselves as contenders in the NFC.

New England is looking to stay in the AFC playoff conversation, and currently sit at 3rd in the East, with the No. 6 seed in the playoff discussion.

A win would go a long way for either team with hopes of improving or even solidifying its playoff positioning within its conference.

WHAT: New England Patriots (6-4) at Minnesota Vikings (8-2)

WHERE: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota (66,468)

WHEN: Thursday, Nov. 24, 2022, 7:20 p.m. ET

TELEVISION: NBC / FuboTV (try it free)

RADIO: 98.5 FM The Sports Hub

Betting via SI SportsBook

SPREAD: New England Patriots +2.5 (-110)

TOTAL: 42.5

MONEYLINE: Patriots +120, Vikings -143

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