On Saturday, Vikings Fans Should Be Cheering for Sean Payton
K. Joudry
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What a world.
For a week, Vikings fans will be tossing their support behind Sean Payton. On Saturday, the Vikings will keep Week 15 moving by travelling to Cincinatti to take on the Bengals. The game takes place at 12 p.m. CST. A few hours later — 7:15 p.m. CST — the Lions and Broncos will begin their tilt. The best outcome for Minnesota would be a brilliant Broncos effort.
Generally speaking, Vikings fans don’t get too worked up about the Lions. Years of ineptitude has left Detroit mostly toothless in past playoff races, so Minnesota’s followers haven’t had to worry about their Michigan foes.
The coming weekend, though, features an ultra important tilt. Or, at least, one that’s very important if the goal is still to claim the NFC North. Toppling the Bengals while seeing the Lions lose would mean Minnesota is a single game behind Detroit with a Minnesota v. Michigan matchup looming in Week 16.
Vikings Fans Should Cheer for … Sean Payton?
The 2009 NFC Championship Game is still an infamous event for football fans in Minnesota. Not only did the Vikings lose in overtime, but they did so while seeing Brett Favre get clobbered with several illegal hits.
Payton stuck around in New Orleans for several more years after his Super Bowl season (and suspension) but wasn’t able to get his squad atop Mount Lombardi ever again. He did, however, take part in some more memorable games against the Vikings in the playoffs. Stefon Diggs created some magic — Diggs, sideline, touchdown, unbelievable — and then Kirk Cousins orchestrated an incredible drive that was capped off by a touchdown pass to Kyle Rudolph. In contrast to 2009, the more recent playoff tilts with Payton are remembered fondly in Minnesota.
A year off in 2022 gave way to Payton becoming the Denver Broncos’ head coach for the 2023 season.
Earlier in the year, the Vikings and Broncos squared off. Russell Wilson, as he has done so many times to Minnesota, led a game-winning drive, one that concluded with Courtland Sutton catching a touchdown pass over the outstretched arms of rookie corner Mekhi Blackmon. Denver won 21-20.
Fast forward a few more weeks and things are heating up in the playoff race in the NFC. The Vikings are sitting in the #6 slot, fully in control of their capacity to make it as a wild card team. More impressively, the Vikings actually have full control of their ability to repeat as division champs.
Putting together four straight wins is unlikely. However, doing so would lead to an 11-6 record and an NFC North crown for the second consecutive year. In this scenario, the outcome of the Broncos and Lions in Week 15 is of little consequence. Minnesota would win the North and there isn’t anything Detroit could do to undermine that reality.
More likely, though, is Minnesota stumbling at least one more time. A Lions loss would allow for the Vikings to experience defeat and yet still be able to snag the division.
Recent weeks have featured some underwhelming football from Detroit alongside some impressive football from Denver. Based on momentum alone, the Broncos should be considered the favorites. Now, momentum doesn’t actually mean too much; what matters in the NFL is which team puts more points on the scoreboard.
Regardless of the outcome of the Vikings game in the afternoon, Minnesota’s fans should be looking for a Sean Payton masterclass on Saturday night. Once the game is over, the fine folks who call Minnesota home can return to their usual ways where they instinctively cheer against any team Payton coaches.
The Vikings head into the week sitting at 7-6 whereas the Lions are coming in at 9-4.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter and as a co-host for Notes from the North, a humble Vikings podcast.