Preview: Vikings spend holiday in clash vs. Saints

NEW ORLEANS — Vikings receiver Adam Thielen is getting accustomed to playing high-stakes, high-intensity games against the New Orleans Saints.

Here comes another one on Christmas Day.

“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy preparing for them; it almost feels like a divisional opponent,” Thielen said. “It’s always a difficult game. It’s always a tough defense and we always have our work cut out for us. I’m assuming it’ll be similar again on Friday.”

This will be the fifth meeting in four years, including two playoff games in which Minnesota scored the winning touchdown on the final play of each.

A victory would allow the Vikings (6-8) to celebrate the holiday by keeping alive thin hopes of sneaking into the playoffs. For the Saints (10-4), a victory would clinch the NFC South for a fourth straight season and keep alive hopes of winning the top seed in the conference – if Green Bay losses its last two games.

The loser will head into the new year on a three-game skid, but the Saints have the benefit of knowing they’ll be in the playoffs regardless.

New Orleans has double-digit wins in each of the past four regular-seasons meetings, only to see their last three playoff runs end short of the Super Bowl, with two losses in overtime and the first coming on a 62-yard Minnesota TD as time expired in regulation.

The Saints’ recent wobbles beg the question whether a similar playoff disappointment is again in store. But coach Sean Payton prefers to focus on why this team should be ready to take the next step.

“I love the grit, the toughness of this team. They’ve come back, played their tails off the next year, got on a roll again this year,” Payton said, referring to New Orleans’ nine-game winning streak earlier this year. “Will it need to be the Super Bowl (for the season to be considered successful). Probably so. But you know what? That is a good measuring stick. And that gives you an indication of how organizationally the culture’s changed, and we embrace that.”

HEADED HOME

Justin Jefferson, the third rookie wide receiver in Vikings history to be picked for the Pro Bowl, returns to his home state after a decorated career at LSU. He leads all NFL rookies with 1,182 receiving yards and has 21 receptions of 20-plus yards, tied for the most in the league.

Jefferson has several ticket requests to fulfill from family and friends, but not as many that would be possible in a normal year given the pandemic-limited attendance at the Superdome.

“For us it’s good not going to an environment that’s loud where you can’t hear,” Jefferson said. “The circumstances this year with COVID, it is what it is. We have to bring our own energy, bring our own excitement, and come prepared.”

Vikings tight end Irv Smith Jr. also grew up in the New Orleans area.

EXTRA PROTECTION

Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been trying a new type of protective vest under his jersey since returning last week from rib fractures and a lung puncture that sidelined him for a month. Brees said he didn’t find it too restrictive, noting he played with “a bigger, thicker flak jacket” early in his career before switching to a thinner model molded to his ribs in recent seasons.

“Everybody comes out of the woodwork when you have rib injuries, and tells you that, ‘Hey, wear this. You can jump on a grenade you’ll be OK,’ ” Brees continued.

He said the padding he’s trying out now “supposedly” would offer grenade-blast protection, but added, “I won’t be the one to prove that theory.”

The 41-year-old Brees passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns with his new torso padding in a 32-29 loss to Kansas City last week. He needs 154 yards to become the first QB in NFL history to pass for 80,000 career yards.

BANGED UP

Minnesota’s young defense is coming off one of its worst performances this season in a 33-27 loss to Chicago. To make matters worse, the injuries have piled up in this shortened week.

Five defensive linemen and three linebackers were listed on the injury report, including middle linebacker Eric Kendricks (calf), who has missed the last three games. That doesn’t include defensive end Danielle Hunter, who has missed the entire season, and outside linebacker Anthony Barr, who was hurt in Week 2.

“You always could use some extra time when you’ve got some injuries,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “We’ve got to get other guys ready to go.”

The Vikings have just four sacks in the last five games and have allowed 28.2 points per game in that span.

COOK CONTAINMENT

The Saints’ third-ranked defense has had two of its worst games against the run during the current two-game skid, allowing 179 or more yards rushing in each. Now they have to contend with Minnesota’s dynamic Dalvin Cook, who has 1,833 yards from scrimmage.

“He’s fast, he makes great decisions,” Saints defensive end Cam Jordan said. “He’s put on a show.

“The last couple games, I think we could’ve done a little bit better in our run game,” Jordan added. “We’re going to focus on that, get back to our fundamentals, get back to playing our defense that we want to play. And once you make a team one-dimensional, we can really start attacking them.”

MINNESOTA (6-8) at NEW ORLEANS (10-4)

Friday, 4:30 p.m. EST, Fox

OPENING LINE — Saints by 6½

RECORD VS. SPREAD — Vikings 6-8, Saints 7-6-1

SERIES RECORD — Vikings lead 23-12

LAST MEETING — Vikings beat Saints 26-20 in playoffs, on Jan. 5, at New Orleans

LAST WEEK — Vikings lost to Bears 33-27; Saints lost to Chiefs 32-29

AP PRO32 RANKING — Vikings No. 18, Saints No. 4

VIKINGS OFFENSE — OVERALL (5), RUSH (5), PASS (18)

VIKINGS DEFENSE — OVERALL (23), RUSH (23T), PASS (24)

SAINTS OFFENSE — OVERALL (16), RUSH (7), PASS (21)

SAINTS DEFENSE — OVERALL (3), RUSH (4), PASS (5)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES — While the Vikings have won the past two playoff encounters, the Saints have won four of the past five regular-season meetings. … Vikings RB Dalvin Cook, who was a Pro Bowl selection for the second straight season, leads the NFL with 1,833 yards from scrimmage to rank fourth in team history with two games to go. … WR Adam Thielen has a career-high 13 TD catches, including a league-most 12 TD receptions inside the 20-yard line. … WR Justin Jefferson leads all rookies with 73 receptions and 1,182 receiving yards. His reception total has surpassed Randy Moss (69 in 1998) for most in franchise history by a rookie, while Jefferson’s yardage total ranks second to Moss for a rookie (1,313). … According to SportRadar, the Vikings have had a total of 2,062 snaps on defense played by rookies, the third most in the NFL behind Carolina (3,034) and Jacksonville (2,382) and the most in a season since coach Mike Zimmer was hired in 2014. … The Vikings’ defense has held opponents to a 37.58% touchdown rate in goal-to-go situations this season, the best mark in the NFL. … In three career regular-season games against the Saints, Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has averaged 335 yards and three TDs passing while throwing only one interception in the span of all three games. … The Saints can clinch the NFC South with a victory or Tampa Bay loss and can stay alive for the NFC’s top playoff seed with a victory and a Green Bay loss. … New Orleans has lost two straight but has yet to lose three straight this season. … QB Drew Brees returned from a four-game absence caused by rib and lung injuries last week and passed for three TDs and one interception. … Brees has 21 TD passes this season and has 17 seasons with at least 20, the second most in NFL history behind Tom Brady’s 18. … Brees needs 154 yards passing to become the first QB in NFL history with 80,000. … RB Alvin Kamara ranks third in the NFL in scrimmage yards (1,516) and is tied for third in total TDs (15). … Kamara leads all RBs with 80 receptions and has joined Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk (1998-2002) as the only running backs with 80 or more receptions in four consecutive seasons. … Kamara has TDs in each of his past three games. He has four TDs (two rushing, two receiving) in four career games vs. Minnesota, including the postseason. … RB Latavius Murray had a TD receiving last week. Murray had 1,664 scrimmage yards and 14 TDs rushing in two seasons (2017-18) with the Vikings. … WR Emmanuel Sanders led New Orleans with 76 yards receiving last week. Sanders is one of three receivers (T.Y. Hilton and Julio Jones) with 500 or more yards receiving in each of the past nine seasons. … TE Jared Cook has a TD catch in two of his last three games and is the only tight end with at least six TDs receiving in each of the past three seasons. … DE Cameron Jordan was ejected last week for punching an opponent. Including playoffs, Jordan has three sacks and five tackles for loss in six career games vs. Minnesota, the team for which his father starred as a tight end. … DE Trey Hendrickson had two sacks and a forced fumble last week, giving him two sacks in each of his past two home games. Hendrickson is tied for second in the NFL with 12 1/2 sacks. … LB Demario Davis had a career-high 15 tackles last week. Davis is one of five linebackers with at least 100 tackles and 10 tackles for loss this season. … CB Marshon Lattimore is the only player with at least 50 passes defensed and at least five forced fumbles since 2017. … Fantasy tip: The versatile Kamara has been the Saints’ most productive skill player throughout the season and has the potential for a big game against a defense that ranks in the bottom third of the league against both the run and pass.