The Saints head into Sunday’s matchup with the Vikings trying to shake off a rough Monday night and get back on track in Caesars Superdome. New Orleans sits at 1-3 after the lopsided loss to the Atlanta Falcons, while Minnesota arrives at 4-0.
Jeff Duncan sees the Saints finding a way to flip the script at home. He picked New Orleans, 20-16, arguing that “sometimes the most desperate team wins” and calling it a “gotta-have-it game” for a team that has dropped back-to-back home games. In his view, the defense is the difference.
Zach Ewing went the other direction, but not by much. He has the Vikings winning 19-17, while still expecting New Orleans to respond better than it did Monday. He noted that the Saints’ matchup looks more favorable on paper, but pointed to the emotional nature of the week and the short turnaround as reasons he had this one circled as a tricky spot for New Orleans.
Luke Johnson also expects a tight one, with Minnesota taking it 16-13. He said the Saints’ weekly identity has been hard to pin down and pointed to the Vikings defense as the biggest obstacle. Johnson sees a rebound coming for the Saints defense, but he doesn’t trust New Orleans’ offensive line against Minnesota’s pass rush.
Matthew Paras is the only staffer backing New Orleans outright, predicting a 17-13 Saints win. He framed the Saints as a team that tends to win the games they’re not supposed to and lose the ones they are, then said he was counting the Week 1 effort against Detroit as a moral victory. Paras cited Brandon Staley’s comment that Monday’s loss to the Falcons was “very uncharacteristic” for the defense, and said the Saints could win if that unit rebounds and Tyler Shough and Co. handle Minnesota’s blitzes well enough.
In Other News...
Saints Veterans Know Minnesota Is Testing Something This Team Lacks
The Saints have plenty to fix after a 1-3 start, even with the offense doing enough to keep them in games. The bigger concern has been whether the team is matching its own standard from snap to snap, and that frustration has started to show in the way veterans are talking about the week ahead. With Minnesota next, New Orleans is staring at an undefeated opponent that will test discipline, urgency and the kind of defensive consistency the Saints have been searching for.
Chase Young did not hide how he feels about the teams current level of play, making it clear the Saints cannot be comfortable with simply showing up and expecting results to follow. The response in practice is supposed to be more demanding, with the early part of the week designed to get the defense into game mode faster and sharpen execution from the start. Whether that translates against a Vikings team that has yet to lose will say a lot about where this group really stands. [Read more 🡒]
Chase Young Has A Huge Chance To Wreck Minnesotas Game Plan
Chase Young has already spent the first month of the season testing himself against some quality blockers, and the Saints have reason to feel encouraged by what they have seen. He has shown he can hold up against talented right tackles, which matters as New Orleans prepares for a matchup that should put him in position to make an impact again.
Minnesotas line is already in a vulnerable spot heading into Week 4, and that gives Young a path to tilt the game in the Saints favor. If he can keep the pressure coming off the edge, New Orleans may be able to force the Vikings into protecting a backup tackle on an island more often than they would like. [Read more 🡒]
Cam Jordan Knows The Vikings Stat That Saints Fans Should Ignore
Minnesotas offense may look ordinary on paper, sitting near the bottom of the league in total yards, but Cam Jordan isnt taking much comfort in that number as the Saints prepare for the matchup. The veteran edge defender knows better than to let a ranking do the talking, especially when injury absences have helped shape how that offense has looked and the Vikings still have playmakers capable of changing the script.
For New Orleans, the bigger concern is how its own defense has held up lately, especially against tight ends. The Saints have had trouble in that area, and Minnesota brings a matchup that could test them again, with T.J. Hockenson looming as one of the most difficult assignments on the field. Jordans point is simple enough: the stat line is not the story, and Sunday is likely to demand more than a quick glance at the numbers. [Read more 🡒]