Overall impression vs Saints
This game seemed like it got out of hand early, but that really wasn’t the case. In fact, it was the Minnesota Vikings who were in control early until the big momentum shift right before the end of the first half.
While the shift happened when Adam Thielen fumbled the ball, the blame can’t be put on him after everything he’s done to this point for the team. Add in the miscommunication on a pass with Stefon Diggs on a pass from Kirk Cousins that resulted in a pick-6, and you have a situation where Minnesota did too much damage to themselves even while limiting the Saints.
Sure, Michael Thomas still got his yards and Alvin Kamara was good, neither did a ton of damage or accumulated 81 yards of total offense each. Even Drew Brees was held to 120 passing yards, which is almost unheard of in this New Orleans Saints offense.
Meanwhile, both Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen racked up over 100 yards each and Latavius Murray averaged 4.3 yards per carry and got a tough touchdown against the NFL’s best run defense. This isn’t the best performance the offense has ever had, but without those turnovers, it would have been enough to get a win.
Like the game against the Los Angeles Rams, this is a game where Minnesota had their opportunities to win but ended up shooting themselves in the foot. Even though it is still a loss, it shouldn’t be as crushing as a game would have been if it were the Saints who were absolutely dominant.
The Minnesota Vikings stay at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 9 in a game where they will go head-to-head with the Detroit Lions in a game where they have a chance to get their first division win of the season. And the Ups and Downs will be back again to discuss it all next week.