At the beginning of the season, it was hard to imagine the New Orleans Saints making it into the postseason in any capacity, let alone as a real contender to make it to the NFC Championship. It won’t be easy for the Drew Brees-led squad, which will face a surprisingly deep talent pool for the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday at 4:40 p.m. ET on FOX (live streams at FOX Sports Go, Yahoo! Sports, and FuboTV).
A lot has changed since these two teams faced off during Kickoff Weekend 2017 when the Vikings claimed a commanding 29-19 win over the Saints. New Orleans might have the momentum coming into the matchup, having just bested one of its division rivals, the Carolina Panthers, on the way to the divisional round.
It was a solid offensive performance from New Orleans, with Brees throwing for 376 yards and two touchdowns, and two Buckeye receivers (Michael Thomas and Ted Ginn Jr.) each claiming over 100 receiving yards. If the passing game struggles for even a second, the Saints boast one of the top rushing duos in the league with rookie Alvin Kamara and veteran Mark Ingram.
Minnesota, on the other hand, is coming off a much-needed bye week, having won the NFC North, marking their first time earning the off week since 2009. The Vikings have faced a slew of injuries to their quarterback room over the past two seasons, and after losing Sam Bradford early in the year, the reins have been handed to Case Keenum. Since taking over as the starter (in Week 3), the fifth-year QB set career highs in just about every category: passing attempts (481), completions (325) and percentage (67.6), yards (3,547), touchdowns (22), and passer rating (98.3).
So, even though these teams faced off in Week 1, there aren’t many similarities heading into the Divisional Round matchup.
This marks the fourth time these teams will meet in the postseason, with the Vikings leading the series 2-1. They last met in the playoffs during the 2009 NFC Championship Game, with New Orleans beating Minnesota, 31-28, on its way to winning Super Bowl XLIV.
Time, TV channel, and streaming info
- Time: 4:40 p.m. ET
- Location: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis
- TV: FOX
- Streaming: FOX Sports Go | Yahoo! Sports | FuboTV
- Odds: The Vikings are 4.5-point favorites.
Saints vs. Vikings news:
- Both teams could be without a few players due to injury.
- QB Case Keenum has benefited a lot from the use of virtual reality training.
- The Vikings will face a much different group of personnel when they play the Saints on Sunday.
There’s no doubt the Saints are a different team now. Since getting shredded by Bradford in week one and Tom Brady’s New England Patriots in week two, defensive coordinator threw out his playbook and totally changed philosophies. The Saints trimmed the fat of complicated zone coverages and too-exotic blitz designs to focus more on playing disciplined man coverage and getting guys in best position to succeed.
- Minnesota fans are probably a little more invested in getting revenge for the 2009 NFC Championship than the players are.
The only Viking who’s left from the 2009 team is defensive end Brian Robison, who has seen his snaps reduced as a backup this season. Honestly, the 2009 thing is definitely more for the fans than it is for any of the players on the field. Plenty of Vikings fans are still pretty angry about what happened that year, and I’m sure they’re more fired up about the game for those reasons than the players are.
- On the other hand, the Vikings’ postseason run could be a revenge tour when all is said and done.
First they’ll beat the Saints and make up for 2009. Then they’ll beat the Falcons and avenge the greatest team in NFL history that didn’t make the title game. Heck, maybe they’ll even get the Steelersto finish everything off in their own stadium and requite Super Bowl IX. It almost feels like everything is preordained. If the Vikings were ever going to finally win it all, wouldn’t vanquishing old demons on the way to being the first team to host the Super Bowl be the perfect way to do it?
Saints vs. Vikings predictions:
Despite the resurgence of the Saints since the beginning of the season, the Vikings just have too many weapons to contain. New Orleans still finishes the season with both the Offensive and Defensive Rookies of the Year, but it’s Minnesota that will end up fighting for a division title. Five of eight of the experts from SB Nation disagree and are betting on the Saints making it to the NFC Championship, but three others think the Vikings get the win.
Check out our Divisional Round picks for even more expert opinions.