4 Stats Behind the Vikings Win over the Saints
The Minnesota Vikings are continuing to solidify their position in the NFC playoffs after winning their fifth consecutive game in Week 10 and improving to 6-4.
This latest win came against the New Orleans Saints, who joined the Vikings at 5-4 coming into the game. Minnesota’s dominant first half proved to be enough as they escaped with a 27-19 victory on Sunday.
With the game now behind us, here is a look at 4 stats that defined Minnesota’s big win over another division leader.
Turnovers
Turnovers have been a big problem for the Minnesota Vikings throughout the 2023 season. That particularly high number was a big reason why they started 1-4 this year, and a turnaround in that department has helped the group get back on track.
For the first time all season, though, the Vikings had no turnovers in a game during their Week 10 win. This came against a defense that was tied for the league-lead heading into the weekend, making Minnesota’s performance all the more impressive.
On the other side, the Vikings also forced a pair of turnovers of their own, intercepting two of Jameis Winston’s passes during the fourth quarter. New Orleans had been making an attempt at a comeback throughout the second half, and without these takeaways, the game could have gone much differently.
Third Downs
Offensively, it wasn’t Minnesota’s best day on third down by any means. However, they converted six of their 15 attempts against a Saints defense that came in as one of the top third-down units in the league, allowing conversions on just 34.1% of their opponents’ attempts. Put differently, Minnesota converted on 40% of their opportunities.
The big story here was the defensive effort from the Vikings. They gave up just four conversions on the Saints’ 14 attempts. Against a talented offense, this was another great day for Minnesota’s defense, which continues to make big plays when they are needed most.
Rushing Offense
Overall, the second half brought down the total effectiveness of Minnesota’s offense, but in the first half, they lit up New Orleans’ defense. The most impressive part of this came in the rushing department where Minnesota averaged over 5 yards per carry during the first half and got some solid production out of the trio of Ty Chandler, Josh Dobbs, and Alexander Mattison.
While they ended the day averaging just 3.8 yards per carry, the Vikings put together 125 rushing yards, a total that at least left the Saints guessing as to what they would do on a play-by-play basis. Chandler nearly had another 29-yard TD in the second half, but it was called back because of a penalty. Meanwhile, New Orleans totaled just 65 yards on the ground and were never truly able to get either Alvin Kamara or Taysom Hill involved on a regular basis.
Explosive Plays
As Minnesota built their 24-3 lead, they consistently were able to take the top off of New Orleans’ defense. They finished the day with six plays which resulted in 20+ yards, and four of them came during the first half. Jordan Addison was able to haul in a couple big passes while Dobbs connected with T.J. Hockenson for a 28-yard TD to put the cherry on top of a terrific first half.
Things weren’t as great in the second half, obviously, but the Vikings still doubled up New Orleans’ plays of 20+ yards, allowing the Saints to get just three of them throughout the day. Overall, the Saints garnered just 4.6 yards per play, more than a full yard fewer than Minnesota’s 5.7 yards per play.
Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.
