What were the good, bad, and interesting things from the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints Divisional Round playoff game? Here are the Ups and Downs!
For fans of the Minnesota Vikings, the wait for a playoff game felt like an eternity. A bye during the Wild Card round of the playoffs set the stage for a big matchup against a familiar foe in the Divisional Round.
The winner of this game will travel to Philadelphia where the Eagles will be waiting for a Conference Championship game where the victor will go on to represent the NFC in Super Bowl 52 at U.S. Bank Stadium.
The Minnesota Vikings defeated the New Orleans Saints in a game that went down to the final moments by the final score of 29-24. It was a last-second touchdown that put the Vikings in position to face the Eagles for the right to play in Super Bowl 52.
But what were the good, bad, and interesting things from this game between the Vikings and Saints? Let’s break it all down starting with the things Minnesota did well in the Divisional Round of the playoffs!
The Good Stuff vs Saints
- Setting the tone. A quick three and out for the Saints to open the game was important. However, the Vikings were able to take that opportunity to drive down the field and score a rushing touchdown. Next, Minnesota stopped New Orleans once again and forced a punt to set up a great situation and a chance to go up two scores.
- Containing the run. Ingram and Kamara should be considered the scariest running back duo in the NFL. Their combo punch has been enough to put most teams in a big hole, but the Vikings defensive line was up for the task.
- Latavius Murray getting it done. Sometimes it is easy to forget that this team is without rookie running back Dalvin Cook. Since Minnesota only had him for a few games and it’s been so long since seeing him, Murray and McKinnon have had to step up. And they have done that in a big way.
- 3rd downs. The Vikings once again won the battle on 3rd downs on both sides of the ball, both holding the Saints and being efficient on offense. This is what allowed Minnesota to get an early lead and hold it long into the game.
- Franchise long field goal made. Kai Forbath hit a 53-yard field goal with less than two minutes left in the game. This is the longest ever made in a postseason game by the Vikings and couldn’t have come at a more clutch time.
The Bad Things vs Saints
- Getting too fancy. Minnesota doesn’t need to be doing double fakes and reverses on offense. pounding the ball and being efficient in the passing game is the best method of success and limits the possibility of negative plays from trying to disguise too much.
- A missed field goal. A 49-yard field goal is far from automatic in today’s NFL and presents a challenge for any special teams unit in the league. That said, if Forbath could have hit the long kick before the end of the first half, Minnesota would have led 20-0. Thankfully he hit one from the same distance later.
- Getting angry and frustrated. Following the Michael Thomas hit on Sendejo, Xavier Rhodes needed to be calmed down and the team didn’t care for New Orleans’ reaction to the play. It seemed to follow over to the next drive as well, with Keenum making an uncharacteristic mistake.
- Second half offense. Minnesota was unable to recreate the long drives that resulted in scores they had in the first quarter. It all came down to being able to put together a drive at the end of the game, and that’s not what you want after having a big halftime lead.
- A tired defense. The Saints were able to put together drives get 21 points on the board in the second half, and a lead with about 3 minutes left in the game. After a dominant start, it was hard to watch it all fall apart.
The Interesting Things vs Saints
- John Randle sounds the Gjallarhorn. Anytime you can get a Hall of Fame player involved in the pregame activities is a good time. This time, it was former Vikings defensive tackle John Randle who sounded the horn and showed some intensity before the game.
- Joe Buck and Troy Aikman. Why does FOX have to cover the NFC? It would have been so much nicer to have Tony Romo or even Collinsworth handling the calls for this game, but at least the Vikings had enough positive plays to force them to praise Minnesota.
- First touchback of the season. Ryan Quigley played the entire regular season without having a punt end up in the end zone for a touchback. However, that streak ended this week when Kearse was unable to stop the punt at the 1-yard line and fell into the end zone.
- Millie was in attendance. By now, you’ve likely seen the video of the Vikings giving Mille and her family tickets to the game for her 100th birthday present. Seeing her at the game and pointed out by the announcers was awesome. No word on whether or not her foam brick was in attendance.
- Michael Thomas not making friends. According to KFAN’s AJ Mansour, Thomas was getting high-fives from his teammates following giving Andrew Sendejo a concussion. If that’s true, it’s a classless move from a franchise with a bad reputation.
Overall impression vs Saints
Normally I start this section of these articles with a calm and rational description of what my overall impression of the game was, but considering how this game came down to a final game-winning play for the Vikings, that is impossible.
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Yes, the Vikings defense struggled in the second half. And yes, Minnesota’s offense struggled to convert in the second half, but all that is really moot now that the Vikings have won the game and move on the Conference Championship game against the Eagles.
There were some great performances. Andrew Sendejo and Eric Kendricks both hand amazing games on the defensive side while the offense was led by a strong running game from Latavius Murray.
Special teams saw Quigley have a touchback plus a blocked punt and Forbath miss a long field goal, but both did a good job of not letting their mistakes get into their heads.
Meanwhile, Michael Thomas will remain the target of hatred in Minnesota for how he acted during the game.
The hopes are that both Sendejo and Rhodes will be closer to 100% next week against Philly. And after such an amazing win over an incredibly tough team, the Vikings should be ready to play the Eagles next week.
Next: Look at who the experts picked to win
What did you think of the game between the Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints? And what was your reaction to that amazing game-winning touchdown pass from Case Keenum to Diggs? Let us know in the comments below.