It was one of the kookiest games of all time.
Two punt returns for touchdowns, both by Reggie Bush. A blocked field-goal attempt that went right to Antoine Winfield, who ran it in for a TD. A back, Chester Taylor, throwing at TD pass for the Vikes. Tons of penalties and four turnovers by the Saints.
You could say the Vikings were lucky. That's true. You could say they didn't "deserve" to win.
I object to the use of that word. No one ever gets what they "deserve." The fact is that the Vikings were resilient and played well enough in some areas to win.
The Saints must feel as if they're cursed -- back in the old days when the team was the Aints. They showed flashes of brilliance yet self-destructed, ending with a missed field goal. They were unlucky, with a strange call on an apparent Adrian Peterson fumble and a missed facemask penalty.
The biggest play of the game came on the Vikes' game-tying drive in the fourth quarter. Gus Frerotte managed to throw a great pass to Bernard Berrian to the New Orleans 27. Frerotte was hit so hard he had to leave the game, but he came back to toss a TD pass to Berrian on an all-out blitz on a third and 16. That tied the game at 27.
I question that decision to blitz. All the Saints needed to do was stop the Vikings. A field goal would leave the Saints in a great position to win -- they would've been up 27-23. Regular coverage would have been the better call.
Maybe the Saints did give the game to the Vikes. They handed them three points in the first half on an onsides kick, which the Vikings recovered. The missed field goal at the end was huge, giving the ball back to the Vikings with two minutes left. Minnesota got into field-goal position on an obvious interference call on the Saints.
But the Vikings acted at times as if they didn't want the gifts from the Saints.
The Vikings' punt and kickoff return coverage was awful. If I were coach Brad Childress, I'd be tempted to fire the special teams coach.
Vikings kicker Chris Kluwe should've kicked out of bounds instead of punting to Bush. Those two returns should've been enough for New Orleans to win.
Not on this night.
So Childress feels a bit less pressure. But he's still on the hot seat. The Vikings spent a lot of money during the offseason on free agents such as Jared Allen, and the results have been less than overwhelming.
Berrian, one of the new players, finally had a breakout game. He scored his first TD in this game. Allen has not been great -- the Vikes had little pass rush (except for Winfield, who sacked Drew Brees, caused a fumble and took the ball to the Saints' four-yard line).
Let's remember the Vikings have been missing some players. Safety Madieu Williams hasn't played yet. E.J. Henderson, the middle linebacker who's played well, is out for the season.
It was a good win for the Vikings and a crushing loss for the Saints. But the Vikings still have a long ways to go and the Saints, with Brees playing well and their defense stellar, are a pretty good team that's had some poor luck.
The Vikings might contend for the NFC North, which is not that great a division this year. The Saints are two games behind in the NFC South but could make a run. Both teams are 2-3.
The Vikings will be at home to the Lions next Sunday. The Saints are at home against Oakland. Both teams should be 3-3 after next week.
