Everson Griffen #97 and Danielle Hunter #99 of the Minnesota Vikings celebrate a sack of David Blough #10 of the Detroit Lions in the fourth quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 8, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The Minnesota Vikings defeated th … ((Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images))
MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Vikings are saying all the right things as they get ready to head to New Orleans for NFC Wild Card Playoffs.
“That’s why we play this game. That’s why we put in all the work, that’s why you want to be out there on Sunday, to get to this point,” wide receiver Adam Thielen said Thursday.
“It’s not guaranteed every year that you’re going to be playing football in the playoffs. The biggest thing is just taking advantage of it,” tight end Kyle Rudolph said.
“Getting in isn’t good enough,” wide receiver Stefon Diggs said.
While the preparation and the game planning doesn’t change a lot, the magnitude of Sunday’s game and the stakes certainly do. That was evident at practice Thursday, as Vikings owners Zygi and Mark Wilf were present at TCO Performance Center in Eagan.
They greeted players before the start of practice, and wished media members a Happy New Year before post practice interviews took place with coordinators, Thielen and Rudolph. It’s only one game, but it could change the entire outlook for the Vikings’ franchise in a few ways depending on the outcome.
The Vikings are facing the Saints in the NFC Playoffs for the first time since the divisional round after the 2017 season. It was a memorable day at U.S. Bank Stadium, with Case Keenum hitting Stefon Diggs for a walk-off touchdown. The “Minneapolis Miracle” sent the Saints home with their season over, and the Vikings were one win away from playing the Super Bowl in U.S. Bank Stadium.
Images of the play are plastered throughout the Vikings facility in Eagan, but they weren’t interested in waxing nostalgia this week.
“Come on man, we’re concentrating on the Saints this week. We don’t care about three years ago or whatever it was,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said Monday.
Cook, rehabbing a torn ACL in his rookie season at the time, had a front row seat for the play on the sideline. He agreed with Zimmer.
“We know what’s at stake, we wake up fired up. It’s playoff football, if that can’t get you going I don’t think a picture could do it,” Cook said.
Sunday marks a pivotal moment for Zimmer, who now enters his third NFC Playoffs in six seasons with Minnesota. He’s under contract through the 2020 season, but there’s been whispers the Dallas Cowboys could come calling after parting ways with Jason Garrett. Zimmer was a defensive coach there for 13 seasons.
It’s also a pivotal game for Kirk Cousins. The $84 million quarterback has not fared well in primetime games, he’s 0-9 on Monday Night Football and the last time he took the field, he and the Vikings’ offense had an abysmal night against the Packers in a 23-10 loss with the chance to stay alive in the NFC North Division race.
While Sunday’s game isn’t in primetime, it is the playoffs and will be under the national spotlight. It’s yet another chance for Cousins in a big moment.
“All that really matters is the fact that it’s one game. We’ve just got to go play in a tough environment and get the job done. Whatever people need for motivation, then so be it,” Cousins said. “But in the NFL Playoffs, I don’t probably need too much more motivation. You got everything you need just in the fact that you’re in the playoffs.”
Outside the team facilities in Eagan, not many are giving the Vikings a chance against the Saints. They’re 7.5-point underdogs, and were left out of a video produced by the NFL after last week that features the 12 teams left in the playoffs.
They’re facing a Hall of Fame quarterback in Drew Brees, who has completed more than 74 percent of his passes this season despite missing five games with a thumb injury. He’s still got nearly 3,000 yards, 27 touchdowns and just four interceptions. The Saints are one of the highest scoring teams in the NFL, scoring at least 34 points in six of their last seven games. Brees is 7-1 in his career in home playoff games, and his only loss to the L.A. Rams last year prompted the NFL to allow challenging pass interference penalties after a controversial finish.
Containing Brees on Sunday will be one of Zimmer's toughest challenges in his six years with the Vikings.
“You’ve got to give him as looks as you can give him. He’s very smart, he’s a great competitor, extremely accurate obviously, moves well in the pocket. So we’ll just have to see,” Zimmer said.
Brees’ favorite target, Michael Thomas, is having an MVP-caliber season. His 149 catches and 1,725 yards lead the NFL. His nine touchdowns are tied for fourth. Add in Alvin Kamara and the versatile Taysom Hill, and it’s a monumental task for the Vikings defense, which will be without Mackensie Alexander and Mike Hughes, due to injuries. Andrew Sendejo and Stephen Weatherly returned to practice Friday after missing two days due to illness.
The Vikings’ offense will be the healthiest it’s been since a Week 6 win over Philadelphia where it put up 38 points. Dalvin Cook returned to practice this week after missing two games and leaving two others in the third quarter with a shoulder injury. His back-up, rookie Alexander Mattison, is back after missing three games with an ankle injury.
Adam Thielen is also ready to go after missing the majority of six straight games with a hamstring injury. He returned at San Diego with three catches for 27 yards. Against the Packers, he had no catches on four targets. He was one of several starters to rest against the Bears.
“At this point it’s a new year, which is great. No. 1, fresh start and it’s a new season. I don’t care what happened before, I don’t care what kind of numbers, whatever happened for anybody. This is a new season, it’s time to go and show what we can do as an offense and as a team,” Thielen said.
They’re the underdogs going into New Orleans. Few expect them to win, some don’t think they’ll keep it close. It’s just talk until noon on Sunday.
“We don’t care what outside people think. We’re going on the road into a tough environment, it’s kind of that us against the world mentality anyways so it doesn’t really change a whole lot for us,” Rudolph said.