The Vikings began the game with starting cornerback Xavier Rhodes nursing a tender hamstring. They since have lost starting cornerback Trae Waynes with a concussion, and with Rhodes on the sideline, Minnesota now has Marcus Sherels and Holton Hill as its cornerbacks.
Sherels had played nine defensive snaps all season and only 54 since Mike Zimmer took over as Vikings coach in 2014.
The Patriots, though, have not taken advantage so far.
New England leads only 10-7 at halftime, and the Patriots have had an uneven performance.
They led 10-0 before failing on a third-and-one run with two minutes remaining in the half. That allowed the Vikings to put their only drive together before intermission.
Minnesota, which had done nothing offensively, drove 74 yards for a touchdown in seven plays. The Vikings finished with 168 yards in the half.
Adam Thielen, who has 100 yards in all but two games this season, did not have a reception until catching a 5-yard touchdown pass from Kirk Cousins with 15 seconds left in the half.
Cousins is 15-for-19 for 109 yards and the touchdown.
Tom Brady has completed 13 of 15 passes for 172 yards, but 42 came on a meaningless final throw to James White, who ran to the Minnesota 11 as time expired.
The Patriots have had seven ball carriers and six pass receivers. Brady had a 5-yard run, putting him over 1,000 yards rushing for his career. It took him 265 career games to get there and became the oldest player in the modern era to reach 1,000 career rushing yards.