Could the Vikings follow the same path as their 1987 team?

The 1987 Minnesota Vikings had an interesting playoff run and this year’s team hopes to follow a similar path in the first round against the New Orleans Saints.

This Sunday, the Minnesota Vikings will begin their playoff push in the wild-card round after not making it to the postseason last year. The Vikings will be taking on the New Orleans Saints, who they defeated in miracle fashion during the 2017 playoffs.

Back in 1987, the Minnesota team coached by Jerry Burns defeated the Saints on the road in a first-round postseason matchup and the Vikings then went on to grab another upset win over the San Francisco 49ers on the road the very next week. Yes, those 49ers who dominated the NFL in the 1980s. Both were big-time upset wins for Minnesota.

That Vikings team in 1987 was also the lowest seed in the NFC that season and if this year’s team defeats New Orleans on Sunday, they will follow the same path and travel to face San Francisco in the divisional round.

Could this season’s Vikings have the same outcome as the team in 1987? Maybe not, but it is possible. You never say never in this league, especially in the playoffs. Just getting a win over the Saints on Sunday alone will be very tough, but not an impossible task for Minnesota.

Yes, the Vikings have been on the wrong side of many surprise outcomes during their history, such as Drew Pearson‘s controversial Hail Mary reception in 1975, Darrin Nelson‘s drop in 1987, Gary Anderson‘s miss in 1998, the 41-0 loss in the 2000 NFC Championship, Nate Poole‘s last-second touchdown catch in 2003,12 men in the huddle in 2009, and the 38-7 loss in the 2017 NFC Championship

We have seen some positive surprises for Minnesota too though, such as their miracle win over the New Orleans in 2017, their comeback win over the New York Giants in the 1997 playoffs, and of course, their unexpected run in the 1987 postseason.

Yes, history doesn’t tend to favor the Vikings much. Minnesota’s last two road playoff wins came in 2004 at Green Bay and in 1997 at New York. But again, you just never know. Two months ago, the Saints lost 26-9 at home to an Atlanta Falcons team that had one win at the time of the matchup.

For Sunday, Minnesota will be without cornerbacks Mike Hughes and Mackensie Alexander, which is huge considering how good New Orleans’ pass attack is.

This could very well be a high scoring game. The Vikings having Dalvin Cook and Adam Thielen healthier will really help and Mr. Miracle Man, Stefon Diggs, will once again likely need to have a big game for Minnesota to pull off the upset.

Maybe another Minneapolis Miracle is on the way, but in New Orleans this time. Stay tuned.