New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings: Key information and first quarter discussion

We are less than an hour away from kickoff at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, where the Minnesota Vikings will be seeking their fifth consecutive victory at the expense of the New Orleans Saints. Here is everything you need to know about today’s matchup.

Date and Time: Sunday, 12 November 2023, noon Central time

Location: U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota

Television Coverage: KMSP-9 in the Twin Cities, FOX affiliates around the country, YouTube TV NFL Sunday Ticket

Radio Coverage: Vikings Radio Network, SiriusXM Channel 230 (Vikings feed), SiriusXM App Channel 820

Line: Vikings +2.5, Over/Under 41

Chris’ Prediction: Vikings 20, Saints 17

Three Keys

1) Stay aggressive on defense - The Vikings’ defense has been one of the league’s best over the past few weeks, and a big part of that has been getting after opposing quarterbacks. This week, they face a Saints’ offensive line that has had its issues this season and a quarterback in Derek Carr that isn’t terribly mobile. If the Vikings can get after Carr, they should be able to get some sacks and force some bad throws.

2) Try to take some heat off of Josh Dobbs - Dobbs’ performance against the Falcons last week was a thing of beauty, and now he’ll try to replicate it against another NFC South opponent. The run game has struggled for the Vikings this year, but New Orleans has struggled to stop the run as well. If Alexander Mattison and Ty Chandler can get something going on the ground, it would help Dobbs and the passing game immensely.

3) Stop turning the damn ball over - The Vikings had two more turnovers last week against Atlanta, but they forced a couple of their own to even things out. This still isn’t a team that can afford to turn the ball over a bunch so they’ll have to try to put together a clean sheet in this one. If they can do that, they should be able to pull out a victory.

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That should be everything you need to get you up to date on today’s happenings, folks. We’ll have a brand new Open Thread at the start of every quarter, so keep your eyes out for those and keep the discussion moving along.

Hopefully we’ll all be meeting back here in about three hours to talk about how awesome it is that this team has now won five straight after that disastrous start.

SKOLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL VIKINGS!!!!