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The NFL playoffs have hardly begun, and they’re already full of surprises. Saturday’s games in the wild-card round saw Deshaun Watson and the Houston Texans go down to the wire against the Buffalo Bills, but the biggest shock of the day arrived when New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady threw a pick-six in what may be his final pass attempt for New England.
So the Tennessee Titans advanced instead, and they’ll travel to face the top-seeded Baltimore Ravens next week while an entire generation of Patriots fans tries to figure out what they’re supposed to do now. Watson’s Texans are also going to hit the road for a divisional-round game with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs. But let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.
You’re here because you want to see Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints exorcise some demons against the Minnesota Vikings. That game — along with a later kickoff between the Seattle Seahawks and Philadelphia Eagles — makes up the second leg of the NFL’s wild-card weekend, and there’s plenty of reasons to feel excited (or anxious) about it. The winner will advance. The loser’s season will be over. It’s pretty cut and dry.
Kirk Cousins’ team has underachieved this year, but they’re dangerous if they can begin firing on all cylinders with injured stars like wideout Adam Thielen and running back Dalvin Cook back in the fold. The Saints defense will be ready, though, with starting safety duo Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams expected to return.
If the Saints win, they’ll have finally put that one thing that happened in the 2017 playoffs behind them. They’ll also progress to the next round of the playoffs, for a road game at Lambeau Field with the Green Bay Packers. But like we said — there’s no sense in putting the cart before the horse. Here’s all that you need to know so that you can tune in for Sunday’s game.
Game Information
New Orleans Saints (13-3) vs. Minnesota Vikings (10-6)
12:05 p.m. CT, Sunday, Jan. 5
Mercedes-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, La.
Streaming
fuboTV (try it for free)
Television
FOX
Radio
WWL 870 AM/105.3 FM and local affiliate stations
Betting
BetMGM (Saints by +7.5, over/under at 49.5)
Extras
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