Byron Murphy Jr. turned a fourth-quarter prediction into a game-sealing play, and the Vikings’ defense once again left New Orleans with almost nothing to work with.
Murphy told the Minnesota sideline he was about to pick off Saints quarterback Tyler Shough again, then backed it up three plays later by jumping a deep ball intended for Chris Olave down the sideline. It was the kind of moment that has become routine for this group, and it helped the Vikings finish off a 23-13 win to move to 5-0 heading into their bye week.
“Olave was on my side, so I knew the ball was definitely coming,” Murphy said. “Then (Shough) checked to something and I thought it might be a double move. He ran a double move, and once the ball was in the air, I knew I had to go get it.”
Minnesota entered the day already leading the NFL in fewest points allowed, and the defense somehow tightened the screws even more. The Saints were held to 142 total yards and just 96 passing yards from Shough. New Orleans found the end zone twice, but both scores came with help from Vikings mistakes - one on an 87-yard fumble return by safety Jonas Sanker after wideout Myles Price coughed it up in the red zone, and the other after Aaron Jones lost a second-quarter fumble that sparked a Saints touchdown drive.
That was about as much life as New Orleans could generate. The Saints managed only nine first downs for the game and had four first downs in six possessions after their lone offensive touchdown. They also converted a pair of fourth downs on that second-quarter scoring march, one of the few times they strung enough together to move the chains.
Blake Cashman led Minnesota with nine tackles and said the defense is feeding off its own standard.
“We are playing with a lot of confidence,” Cashman said. “We just build off of great defensive performances. If we want to be labeled the best defense in the league, we have to prove that every week.”
The numbers keep backing that up. Vikings opponents are averaging 12.8 points through five games, and no opponent has scored more than 16 since Green Bay put up 22 in Minnesota’s opener, a 39-22 Vikings win.
Justin Jefferson saw the same thing everyone else did from the sideline.
“There’s really nothing more to say” about Minnesota’s defense, Jefferson said. “They are continuously coming in here and showing up.
It’s kind of crazy to see. We feed off of them.”
Shough was under fire all afternoon. Minnesota’s blitz-heavy approach produced only one sack, but the pressure still forced him into scrambles and drew multiple holding penalties on Alvin Kamara. Murphy’s first interception came after Shough rolled away from pressure and tried to fit a pass to Bryce Lance while on the move.
Saints center Erik McCoy said the plan is obvious when Minnesota shows up.
“That’s their M.O.,” McCoy said. “They’re going to make your running backs block.
They’re going to make your tight ends block. That’s who they are as a defense and they’re damn good at it.”
Minnesota trailed 7-6 heading into the third quarter, then took over from there. The Vikings outscored New Orleans 17-6 the rest of the way and kept the Saints off the board on defense after halftime.
Kevin O’Connell said his halftime message centered on giving the defense something to protect.
“If we keep them fresh and get them leads in the second half, we are going to be a tough team to beat,” O’Connell said.
Murphy’s second interception was his 14th in more than three seasons with Minnesota and his third this year. The play also fit the identity of a defense that is no longer just making stops - it’s calling its shots and cashing them in. When Cashman saw the ball hanging in the air, he knew exactly what was coming.
“No way! He’s coming down with this!”
“He’s a ball hawk,” Cashman said. “It was a great play to put the game away.”
In Other News...
Vikings Stay Unbeaten As Their Defense Sends A Clear Message
The Vikings kept their unbeaten start alive Sunday with a 23-13 win over the Saints, and once again the story was about a defense that keeps making life miserable for opponents. Minnesotas offense did enough to stay in control, but the tone of the game was set by a unit that never let New Orleans find much rhythm and helped push the Vikings to 5-0 heading into their Week 6 bye.
Aaron Jones gave Minnesota an important fourth-quarter cushion with an 8-yard touchdown run, and Will Reichard later added a 55-yard field goal to help close it out. For a team that keeps stacking wins while waiting for its next test, the bigger message is getting harder to miss: the Vikings are not just surviving the early season, theyre dictating how games are played. [Read more 🡒]
Justin Jefferson Just Lost A Record To A Vikings Rival
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The new standard arrived during the Lions Week 5 game and was later confirmed by Detroits public relations account, underscoring just how consistent St. Brown has been from the start. For the Vikings, it is another reminder that the divisions top pass catchers are still trading blows, and Jeffersons place atop that list no longer looks quite as secure. [Read more 🡒]
Kyler Murray Is Giving Vikings Fans Real Reason To Believe
Kyler Murray put together the kind of efficient, dual-threat afternoon that can make a team feel a little different about itself, and Minnesota had every reason to take notice in the 23-13 win over New Orleans. He completed 24 of 30 passes for 229 yards and a touchdown without an interception, then added another layer with his legs, giving the Vikings the sort of balanced quarterback play that has been hard to ignore.
For a team heading into its bye week, the timing matters. Minnesota now gets a chance to carry that performance into the next stretch of the schedule, and the broader significance is hard to miss, too, because the game checked a box this franchise had never seen from a quarterback before. The only question is whether this was a one-off eruption or the kind of outing that starts to reshape what Vikings fans expect every week. [Read more 🡒]