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The history between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints has gotten significantly more interesting over the past couple of years. . .well, from a Vikings’ fan perspective, at least. The Saints had run off a few wins in a row over the Vikings, but the purple broke that streak last season. The regular season history between these two teams is what we’ll be focusing on here.
As always, all of the numbers used in this post come from the good folks at Pro Football Reference.
Total regular season games between the Saints and the Vikings: 29
All-time record: Vikings, 19-10
Total Vikings’ points scored, head-to-head: 732 (25.4 points/game)
Total Saints’ points scored, head-to-head: 531 (18/3 points/game)
Longest Vikings’ winning streak vs Saints: 6 games, 27 September 1970 to 12 September 1976
Longest Saints’ winning streak vs Vikings: 3 games, 9 September 2010 to 21 September 2014
Most recent Vikings’ home win in series: 11 September 2017 (Final score: 29-19)
Most recent Saints’ road win in series: 18 December 2011 (Final score 42-20)
Biggest Vikings’ home win in series: 42 points, 4 December 1988 (Final score 45-3)
Biggest Saints’ road win in series: 22 points, 18 December 2011 (Final score 42-20)
Current streak: Vikings, 1 win
The Saints and Vikings opened last season at U.S. Bank Stadium on Monday Night Football, and we saw the start of what looked like an outstanding season for quarterback Sam Bradford. Bradford completed 27-of-32 passes for 346 yards and three touchdown passes. Stefon Diggs brought in two of the scores, while the other was hauled in by Kyle Rudolph. The Vikings dominated throughout most of the evening, and the Saints got a late touchdown to make things slightly less lopsided, but the Vikings won 29-19. Then, before we knew it, Bradford was basically done for the season. . .but the Vikings did alright anyway.
Saints’ quarterback Drew Brees has set a lot of records in his NFL career, and he probably could have set some more the last time the Saints won in Minnesota. In 2011, against a defense that’s on the short list of the worst in Vikings’ history, Brees was pretty much unstoppable. Brees completed 32-of-40 passes for 412 yards and five touchdown. . .and threw his last pass at the 13:36 mark of the fourth quarter. The Saints put Brees on the bench after that, but had they wanted to let him set records in that one, they could have. As it was, the Saints won 42-20 as the Vikings spiraled to a 3-13 season.
That’s a quick look at the history between the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints, ladies and gentlemen. There’s plenty more to come before this Sunday’s contest, and we’ll have everything right here for your reading pleasure.