Minnesota Vikings: Early look at NFC Wild Card matchup with Saints
With the Minnesota Vikings officially taking on the New Orleans Saints in the NFC Wild Card round, here’s an early look into the opening round matchup.
The Minnesota Vikings now know where they will be headed for the opening round of the NFC Playoffs this weekend as they will officially be heading to New Orleans to square off against the third-seeded Saints in the opening round.
Minnesota and New Orleans will square off in the opening round of the 2020 NFL Playoffs on Sunday afternoon when they battle it out in the first of two NFC games at 1:05 p.m. ET on FOX at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.
The winner of the game between the No. 6-seeded Vikings and the No. 3-seeded Saints will advance to take on either the No. 1 San Francisco 49ers or the No. 2 Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round.
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The Vikings come into the game riding a two-game losing streak to finish out the regular season, ending the year with a record of 10-6 overall and grabbing second place in the NFC North behind the Packers. In road games this year, the Vikings hold a record of 4-4.
New Orleans, meanwhile, enters the playoff contest winners of three straight to wrap up the regular season with a record of 13-3 and taking the NFC South crown once again. The Saints, who are a tough team to face when playing on their home field, carried a home record of 6-2 in 2019.
The two teams did face off against each other once during the preseason at the beginning of the year, although they didn’t square off in the regular season. In the Week 4 preseason matchup in New Orleans, Minnesota came away with a 34-25 win, though that means quite little with many starters on the sidelines.
There is some strong history between the two teams when it comes to playing in the playoffs, however.
In 2017, the Vikings had their “Minneapolis Miracle” game against New Orleans, when Minnesota wide receiver Stefon Diggs caught a 27-yard touchdown reception with 25 seconds remaining in the game to lift the Vikings to a win over the Saints in the NFC Divisional Round.
Going back to 2009 as well, New Orleans beat Minnesota, 31-28, in overtime in the Divisional Round to advance to the Super Bowl and ultimately win the title over the Indianapolis Colts. That game still haunts some with the Vikings in a contest that is known around the league as the “Bountygate” game that brought that Saints scandal to light.
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With a strong history between the two squads going into a new playoff bracket here in 2019, the NFC Wild Card game between Minnesota and New Orleans will once again be an entertaining one on Sunday afternoon at the Superdome.