Welcome everyone to the latest game preview for the New Orleans Saints! This week, we look at the Saints NFC Divisional Round matchup against the Minnesota Vikings.
Last Week: The Saints came away with a 31-26 win last Sunday against the Carolina Panthers thanks in large part to a Drew Brees-led offense. Minnesota had the week off by virtue of being the number two seed and ended their regular season with a 23-10 win over the lowly Chicago Bears
Last Meeting: The Saints and Vikings last faced off all the way back in week one on a Monday night with the Saints falling hard to Minnesota 29-19. The Vikings lead the overall series 21-11, but the Saints have won the previous four matchups.
Storylines to Watch:
Night and Day: Ask Drew Brees about that week one matchup on Monday Night Football and he considers it to be ages ago. It’s an accurate statement considering everything that’s happened since that 29-19 loss. From getting rid of Adrian Peterson to that incredible eight-game win streak, this team has gone through a transformation that helped the Saints get into the position they’re in right now.
You could say the same for the Vikings though with Case Keenum as their quarterback once Sam Bradford was sidelined with an injury. Keenum has done a stellar job, but his inexperience in the postseason might cost them in this one.
Ground Game: The ground game for both sides of the ball is going to crucial on Sunday. Look back at the week one matchup and you’ll see that the Saints run game was very much on life support with Adrian Peterson wanting to be the bellcow and it forced the Saints to be one-dimensional. Now that the Saints have that two-headed monster in Kamara and Ingram, you could definitely see their run game become a key factor in this matchup.
Lattimore vs Diggs: Another notable player that wasn’t a factor in week one was Marshon Lattimore. While the Saints can put Lattimore against Adam Thielen, I’d expect to see him up against the speedy Stefon Diggs.
Diggs had seven catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns back in week one and if Lattimore is up against him, his receptions will be down drastically.
New Orleans Will Win If:
The Saints can stay in the postseason if they can bring some pressure to Case Keenum. We saw what happened last weekend when Cam Newton was pressured and if the defense can keep it going against an inexperienced QB.
Minnesota Will Win If:
The Vikings can advance if they can win the turnover battle. The Saints haven’t turned over the ball nearly as much as they had been in the past, but with some hits to the depth of the offensive line will make it a little more likely that the Saints commit some turnovers in a big game this weekend.
-Clint Domingue