5 Bold Predictions: Vikings vs. Saints – NFC Wild Card

Vikings won’t keep up with the Saints offense

When thinking about this game, I get flashbacks to the Minnesota Twins’ ALDS series with the New York Yankees. For those who don’t follow baseball (and if you do, check out Puckett’s Pond for all of your Twins coverage!), the Twins were given no chance to defeat the mighty Yankees in the playoffs despite winning 101 games last season, but in the minds of Twins fans, there were plenty of reasons that the Twins could beat the Yankees as an evenly matched team.

But then the games started and the Twins didn’t play like themselves. They started pressing to make things happen and once they fell behind, they put themselves in a situation that didn’t play to their strength and as a result, they were dispatched with little resistance.

That’s kind of how I feel about this game. There are plenty of reasons why the Minnesota Vikings could win this game, but the Saints have even more reasons why the will.

With the Vikings shorthanded in the secondary, Drew Brees and Michael Thomas should be in line for big days and with the injury to All-Pro linebacker Eric Kendricks, he likely won’t be 100 percent while trying to keep up with Saints running back Alvin Kamara.

That makes me believe that this game will be a shootout in the Superdome and get Minnesota away from their ball-control and defense approach. That will put the game in the hands of Cousins and although there’s enough that could help him play well, I don’t think it will be enough to outscore the Saints on Sunday afternoon.

Prediction: Saints 35, Vikings 21