Saints vs. Vikings Live Score Updates
Merry Christmas, everyone! It's time for some holiday football in New Orleans.
The Vikings are playing to keep their tiny playoff hopes alive, but they're also playing for pride and momentum purposes. The Saints, meanwhile, are looking to bounce back from two straight losses and get revenge for a couple notable playoff defeats at the hands of the Vikings over the past few years.
For Minnesota, as usual, all eyes will be on Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook, and Justin Jefferson on the offensive side of the ball. Cousins is looking to put up another strong performance in the Superdome against a tough Saints defense after doing so in last year's wild card round, Cook will be fed early and often, and Jefferson is hoping to make a push in the offensive rookie of the year race with a big game in his home state.
For the Saints, Alvin Kamara should feast against the Vikings' depleted front seven, which is down even more players than usual today. Linebackers Eric Kendricks, Todd Davis, and Troy Dye are all out, leaving Eric Wilson and a few backup-type players at the position. Also out for the Vikings are fullback C.J. Ham (who will be replaced by undrafted rookie Jake Bargas) and backup running back Alexander Mattison.
The Saints will be without a couple key defensive starters in co-NFC sack leader Trey Hendrickson and safety Marcus Williams, as well as starting guard Andrus Peat and star receiver Michael Thomas (injured reserve).
Click here to read my prediction for the game, as well as picks from a bunch of national writers.
If you can't watch, follow along with our live updates below. Make sure to refresh the page for the latest updates.
Also, make sure to follow me on Twitter for updates and commentary all game long.
Final Score: Saints 52, Vikings 33
Fourth Quarter
Saints 45, Vikings 27
4:00 – Rushing touchdown No. 6 for the Saints goes to Taysom Hill.
11:13 – Kirk Cousins is strip-sacked on third down and that feels like the ballgame.
Saints 38, Vikings 27
12:07 – Alvin Kamara has five touchdown runs. There's not much else that needs to be said about that.
Third Quarter
Saints 31, Vikings 27
0:27 – That's two touchdown catches for Irv Smith Jr. in the third quarter, and it's the Vikings' third 75-yard touchdown drive of the game. Bailey makes the extra point.
Saints 31, Vikings 20
4:38 – Alvin Kamara has FOUR touchdown runs today. The Vikings' defense is having a very tough time trying to tackle him today. Anthony Harris had a couple ugly reps on the last two plays of that drive.
Saints 24, Vikings 20
9:41 – Strange sequence of events to start the second half. The officials allowed the Saints to return a blatant incomplete pass for a touchdown, and it was overturned after review. After a punt, Drew Brees threw a pass that was tipped and wound up as a Hardy Nickerson Jr. interception. A couple plays later, New Orleans native Irv Smith Jr. catches a touchdown pass. But Dan Bailey misses the extra point. Got all that?
Second Quarter
0:00 – Awful clock management by the Vikings to end that half. Mike Zimmer let 20 seconds run off before using a timeout and preventing a Hail Mary after the following play. Vikings will get the ball to start the third quarter.
Saints 24, Vikings 14
0:42 – Kamara is in for his third touchdown of the game. They're up to 326 total yards of offense. Eric Wilson nearly had an interception earlier in the drive but couldn't hold on.
3:22 – The Vikings can't take advantage of the turnover, giving it right back to New Orleans after a three-and-out. The interior offensive line was pushed straight back into Kirk Cousins on third down.
5:10 – There's a Saints mistake. Drew Brees throws it right to Harrison Hand, who made a great play on the ball. That's two consecutive stands in the red zone for the Vikings' defense. What a moment for the fifth-round rookie in primetime.
Saints 17, Vikings 14
10:20 – The Vikings respond! That's another impressive drive for Minnesota's offense against a good defense. A big catch for Justin Jefferson leads to a Mike Boone touchdown, and this is a one-score game again.
Saints 17, Vikings 7
14:12 – The Vikings held the Saints to a field goal, which has to be considered a major win at this point. New Orleans did go 84 yards and get into the red zone, but Eric Wilson made a nice pass breakup to prevent a touchdown and Sean Payton settles for a short field goal.
First Quarter
0:00 – After one quarter, the Saints have 216 yards of offense and are knocking on the door of a third touchdown. This is ugly.
3:56 – The first punt of the game comes from the Vikings. Marshon Lattimore is shadowing Justin Jefferson today, which will be a fantastic matchup to watch all game long. So far, Lattimore is winning. Will this be another easy touchdown drive for the Saints?
Saints 14, Vikings 7
5:10 – Will the Vikings get a single defensive stop today? It hasn't happened yet. The Saints are averaging 10.5 yards per play and just got another Alvin Kamara touchdown. Troy Aikman on the FOX broadcast said the Vikings' defense "just isn't very good," and he's not wrong at all.
Saints 7, Vikings 7
8:54 – The Vikings' response looked just as easy as the Saints' opening score. They drive down and cap off an eight-play possession with Dalvin Cook's 17th touchdown of the season. The big play to set it up was a third and eight conversion to Tyler Conklin. We might have a shootout on our hands.
Saints 7, Vikings 0
12:19 – Well, that went as expected. The Saints absolutely gashed the Vikings' awful, injury-ravaged front seven on their opening drive, capping it with a 40-yard Alvin Kamara touchdown in which he was completely untouched. New Orleans goes 75 yards on six plays in less than three minutes.
