Are you ready for one of the most anticipated rematches from last year's playoffs? Last year the Minnesota Vikings stamped their ticket to the NFC championship game in a wild, back and forth victory over the Saints that ended with a last minute 61-yard completion. While the stakes may not be as high this time around, you can bet the farm that New Orleans Saints are going to be playing Sunday night's game with revenge on their mind. So far this season, New Orleans has been one of the best teams in the league at 5-1, while the Vikings sit atop the NFC North at 4-2-1. This may be one of the best games all year, so you'll want to get in on the action by visiting our NFL sportsbook and making your pick!
Sunday night's game will be like a splash of cold water to the face for Minnesota, who has spent the last two weeks playing losing teams with young quarterbacks. They defeated the Jets 37-17 in week 7 and Arizona 27-17 in week six. New Orleans poses an entirely different challenge with Drew Brees and the established offensive power of the Saints. To counter the Saints offensive onslaught, Minnesota will look to WR Adam Thielen, who leads the league in receiving yards and has been the top receiver in every game he has played in except one, 31-38 week four loss to the LA Rams.
Injury-wise, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook didn't practice on Wednesday as he deals with a lingering hamstring injury and a report from the NFL Network said he could be held out until after Minnesota's bye week in Week 10. Luckily for the Vikes, RB Latavius Murray has picked up all the slack, running for 224 yards and three touchdowns.
New Orleans will offer Minnesota a maddening array of offensive threats to defend against. WR Michael Thomas has 53 catches and four touchdowns this season. Dual-threat back Alvin Kamara has 363 yards rushing, 362 receiving yards and seven touchdowns. To make matters even more difficult for Minnesota, running back Mark Ingram II will be back from his suspension to start the season.
The Saints are winners of five straight, and boast the NFL's best rush defense, allowing an average of 73.2 yards per game. Winning this matchup as their sixth in a row would be unique, but they are also approaching this game as level-headedly as possible if guard Larry Warford's words mean anything.
"I think one of the great things about our team is our preparation is consistent. We don't get too caught up in narcissism or anything or any talk about the game or a certain team. We worry about ourselves at the end of the day, and we get ourselves better."
As for injuries, New Orleans Center Max Unger missed practice with a hand injury Wednesday, left guard Andrus Peat practiced fully after missing last week's game with a concussion, and Warford wasn't even on the injury report after recovering from a back injury last week, so the Saints look pretty healthy coming into this one.
This matchup has a 50-year history, dating back to 1968. Minnesota has the better record head to head, at 22-11-0.
