The New Orleans Saints handled their business in Week 17, but the Seattle Seahawks weren’t able to. Seattle allowed the San Francisco 49ers to leave with a win, guaranteeing that the Saints will enter the NFC playoff standings as the third seed. That sets New Orleans up to host the Minnesota Vikings during the wild card round. The game will kick off at 1:05 p.m. ET on Sunday, Jan. 5.
This is disappointing for a few big reasons. The Saints have been hit hard with injuries on defense, having rested three starting defensive backs during their season-closing win over the Carolina Panthers (safeties Vonn Bell and Marcus Williams, and cornerback Eli Apple). Getting the bye week would have been huge for those players’ recovery, but instead they’ll proceed with business as usual. On Monday, it’s Vikings week.
So who are the Vikings this year? They’re a team with a mediocre offensive line that wants to establish the run early, running behind a talented (but injured) duo in Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison. Their entire philosophy is built around protecting quarterback Kirk Cousins, who has folded repeatedly against the better teams on their schedule. It’s as strong of a matchup for the Saints defense as they’ll see in the postseason.
And it might be a favorable matchup for the Saints offense, too. The Vikings only have two real pass rushers to speak of in Danielle Hunter (who is very, very good) and Everson Griffen (who is also pretty good), but their back seven has under-performed this year. Xavier Rhodes has not played like himself in 2019; truth be told he hasn’t been the same since Michael Thomas victimized him repeatedly in their 2017 playoffs duel, and he’s looking like a liability again this week.
While Minnesota is as physical and well-coached as any defense in the league, they may not have the horses to run with the Saints, especially now that the offensive line is almost back to full health. But expect Vikings coach Mike Zimmer to plan the game of his life when it’s time to face his old friend and coworker in Saints coach Sean Payton.
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