Minnesota Vikings Best and Worst: Wild Card vs. New Orleans Saints
By Adam Carlson
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One of the most creative things the Vikings did during this game was to change up their defensive line. They knew the Saints have great players at offensive tackle so they shifted to put Everson Griffen and Danielle Hunter inside and allow them to work against the interior linemen.
They found a lot of success on those plays, getting pressure on Drew Brees and even doing a solid job of slowing down the run. The Saints quarterback never seemed to find his footing, gaining only 208 yards on 26 completions with one touchdown and one interception.
Here are some other good things to come out of Wild Card Weekend for the Minnesota Vikings:
- Can’t stop the Thielen. Adam Thielen started slow, fumbling the ball and struggling to haul in catches but finished strong. His seven catches led the Vikings as did his 129 receiving yards…and it wasn’t even close. He took this game over when the team needed it most.
- Cooking in the kitchen. Statistically, Dalvin Cook‘s 3.4 yards per carry isn’t going to impress anyone. However, he was up against a stout Saints defense and was also in a lot of short-yardage or goal-line situations where getting a few yards was big. Heck, two of those short runs ended up being touchdowns.
- Under the covers. Anthony Harris tied for the league lead in interceptions and showed off his playmaking skills on a nice leaping interception where he needed to stretch out to haul it in. He’s going to be a key contributor in the NFL for many years to come, especially if Harrison Smith can continue to be a consistent force by his side.
- No Kamaras allowed. The Saints run the ball very well, but the Vikings played the line of scrimmage very well, allowing only 3 yards per carry to Alvin Kamara. Not only that, but New Orleans moved away from him in their offense, giving him only seven carries in the game.