Make no mistake, the environment was set once again on Sunday night. The electricity was flowing. The ‘Skol’ chant deafened the eardrums. Every single outside advantage worked to the favor of the Minnesota Vikings. Even the stat sheet showed a significant difference in total yardage, first downs, and passing yards. Almost every single statistical victory went to the Vikings except for the final score. The New Orleans Saints won the game in the end 30-20.
Sunday Night Football: The Black and Gold Shined
This game had nothing to do with payback. This game followed a totally different tune than last year’s playoff game. The Saints didn’t win this game as usual. They won it a different way. Turnovers turned into points, and the Vikings had no chance to get close to performing another miracle on this night. No one would have possibly imagined the Saints could win by 10 points and Drew Brees would only throw for 120 yards. Not to mention, just one touchdown with an interception. Conversely, Kirk Cousins finished up with 359 yards on 21 of 31 passing, with two touchdowns against one interception.
Still, the game always seemed to be in the control of the New Orleans Saints. The Saints started early, with a long pass from third-string utility player Taysom Hill to Michael Thomas for a 44-yard gain. This would set up the only touchdown pass of the evening from Brees to Alvin Kamara for a 7-0 lead in the first quarter.
The defense of the Vikings kept Brees in check. “For the most part, I thought it was pretty good,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “We took away their big plays, they’re a big time shot play team and we took those away.”
Surely, the Vikings defense made it hard for the Saints to move the ball, but it didn’t matter in the end. The momentum seemed to be swinging back to the Minnesota Vikings, after a score in the second quarter that made it 13-7. The extra point was missed. The Saints added a field goal to cut the lead to 13-10. However, the momentum was lost, after Marshon Lattimore recovered a fumble, as the Vikings were driving deep into Saints territory. At that point, the Vikings were looking to add to the lead.
Momentum Change That Never Returned
Immediately, it looked like the Vikings were going to lead into halftime. But the opposite occurred. That was turning point number one. Lattimore brought it back 54 yards, all the way to the Vikings 33-yard line. The Saints took the lead 17-13 right before halftime that killed the built up momentum. The Vikings never recovered.
Later in the third quarter, the game changed dramatically. Quarterback Kirk Cousins was under duress and threw an easy pick to P.J. Williams. Williams returned it back 45 yards for a Saints touchdown. “No I don’t think he even saw me,” Williams said. “He saw Stefon Diggs coming across the field and I am sure he thought he was going to complete the pass. I saw it, and made a play on the ball.”
And the game was over. The score blew up to 27-13. In all honesty, the game felt more like a blowout. U.S. Bank Stadium became quiet. Everything seemed to turn from confidence to assurance. This team was so different this time around. The experience from last year was just too polished to overcome. The Vikings scored late in the game when it was just about all said and done. The 30-20 finish didn’t feel like two playoff contenders fighting it out for survival. This game simply went to the better team. The score wasn’t even close to how the game played out. The Saints rolled over the Vikings on their home turf. A Minnesota beatdown that ended with a knockout.
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