MINNEAPOLIS _ Heading into Sunday night's game at U.S. Bank Stadium _ the third nationally televised matchup between the two teams in 13 months _ the Vikings and Saints spent the week parrying questions about January's "Minneapolis Miracle," insisting the last matchup would have no bearing on this one.
In the end, both teams proved the point: Sunday's game was nothing like the last one. And if the two teams are to meet again in this season's playoffs, there's a good chance they will not do so in Minneapolis.
Two costly Vikings turnovers helped the Saints build a 30-13 fourth-quarter lead, despite Drew Brees' inability to establish a downfield passing game against a Vikings defense playing without Xavier Rhodes, Andrew Sendejo and Anthony Barr. Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram combined for more than 100 rushing yards as the Saints secured their first win at U.S. Bank Stadium.
On a night that began with Stefon Diggs coming out of the U.S. Bank Stadium tunnel as the last player introduced, the Vikings suffered what might have been a crippling blow to their bid for a first-round bye.
The loss dropped the Vikings percentage points behind the Bears, who defeated the jets 24-10 on Sunday afternoon. The Bears are 4-3 and the Vikings are 4-3-1. But the defeat also put the Vikings two victories behind the Saints, and marked their second loss in a month to the two teams with the best records in the conference (the Saints and Rams).
According to ESPN Stats and Information, the Saints were 1-11 in Brees' career (before Sunday night) when he had fewer than 80 passing yards in the first half. He finished with just 64 in the first half on Sunday night (though the Saints got a 44-yard completion from Taysom Hill to Michael Thomas), and didn't cross the 100-yard mark until the final play of the third quarter.
Still, the Saints sailed to victory in a game that looked just before halftime like it might be firmly in the Vikings' control.
Rushing off the left side of the Vikings' defense with 3:03 left in the first half, Stephen Weatherly got an arm near Brees' chest, forcing a hasty throw from the future Hall of Famer that Harrison Smith intercepted for Brees' first pick of the season.
The takeaway, against a quarterback not given too many mistakes especially this season, looked like it could be a pivotal moment in a game that featured only two first-half punts. Instead, it precipitated a takeaway that turned out to be even more pivotal.
With the Vikings at the Saints' 18 and potentially driving toward a 10-point halftime lead, Adam Thielen had the ball stripped by Alex Anzalone after a five-yard gain, and Marshon Lattimore scooped up the fumble for a 54-yard return, followed by a 15-yard penalty on Laquon Treadwell for throwing his helmet at the end of the play.
Two plays later, the Saints were in the end zone, with Alvin Kamara's one-yard touchdown run following his 17-yard gain off a pass from Brees.
As the Vikings decided to run the ball twice and drain the final 30 seconds off the clock to end the first half, they were sent to their locker room by a round of boos. They took a more aggressive tack on their first possession of the second half, going for it on 4th-and-1 from their own 45. Treadwell couldn't hang onto Cousins' throw over the middle, and the Saints drove for a field goal that extended their lead to seven points.
The Vikings' next possession proved to be even more disastrous.
On the first play, Cousins rolled to his left, looking to make a play with Marcus Davenport bearing down on him. The Vikings caught a break when officials ruled Cousins was down before Davenport ripped the ball out of his hand, calling the play a two-yard sack instead of a fumble return for a touchdown.
But four plays later, as Cousins tried to hit Diggs on a short crossing route on third down, the wide receiver stopped running against man coverage, and P.J. Williams picked off Cousins' throw, returning it 45 yards for a touchdown.
Television cameras showed Cousins nodding and patting Diggs' back as the wide receiver came up to explain what had happened. The damage pushed the Saints' lead to 14 points, extending their run to 17 unanswered points after Thielen's fumble.
The wide receiver would go on to break the NFL record for 100-yard games to start a season, surpassing Charlie Hennigan's old mark of seven, but his fourth-quarter touchdown only served to pull the Vikings within 10.
