Saints looking for bounce- back win
The New Orleans Saints are in the playoffs.
But they’ve lost two games in a row after winning nine straight. They have failed two weeks in a row to clinch the NFC South title. They have dropped from the No. 1 seed to the No. 2 seed in the NFC.
And now they get a reminder of the disappointing end to last season as they host the Minnesota Vikings in the penultimate game of this season this afternoon.
It was 51 weeks ago that the Vikings went into the Superdome and upset the Saints 26- 20 in a wild- card game.
“Last year, we were flat and we played poorly,” Saints coach Sean Payton said.
New Orleans ( 10- 4) is hardly panicking though. It’s still the No. 2 seed in the conference and can pass Green Bay with some help. It needs just one win or one Tampa Bay loss to clinch its fourth consecutive division title.
Nonetheless, Payton said, “this has got to be a bounceback week.”
The Saints lost to Philadelphia two weeks ago to drop to 3- 1 in the games that Drew Brees missed because of rib and lung injuries.
Brees returned last week and showed plenty of rust in the first half before finding some rhythm. Despite the slow start, the Saints stayed with the Super Bowl champion Chiefs before narrowly losing, 32- 29.
“You want to be playing your best football going into the playoffs,” Brees said. “We understand that we’ve sealed a playoff spot. But, the most important factor right now is for us to win and win the division, and then, continue to kind of build on and ascend, going into the playoffs.”
New Orleans has lost back- to- back games for the first time since the first two games of the 2017 season, which also included a 29- 19 loss to the Vikings.
“It’s been a long time since we lost back to back,” said safety CJ Gardner- Johnson, who was a sophomore at Florida when it last happened. “We’re not going to let that happen again.”
One thing the Saints likely don’t have to worry about happening again is a playoff game against Minnesota.
The Vikings ( 6- 8) need to win their last two games and see Arizona lose its last two and Chicago lose at least once to qualify.
Minnesota’ s injury plagued defense had nine players on the injury report Tuesday, including star linebacker Eric Kendricks, who has missed the last three games because of a calf injury.
“I have seen some strides from the guys we’re playing with ( on defense),” coach Mike Zimmer said.
The Vikings allowed the Bears’ David Montgomery to rush for a career- high 146 yards and two touchdowns last week in Chicago’s win.
With Brees less than 100 percent and All- Pro receiver Michael Thomas on injured reserve, New Orleans might be inclined to emphasize the run with Alvin Kamara and former Viking Latavius Murray.
amara has gained nearly 800 yards both rushing and receiving yards and has scored 15 touchdowns.
“We didn’t play very well against the run ( against the Bears). We didn’t tackle very well,” Zimmer said. “Kamara’s obviously a great back. He’s got really, really good feet. He’s hard to tackle. They use him in more variety of ways. We’re just going to have to do a better job in some of the cutback and power runs than we did last week.”
BUCSRULE OUT RB JONES FOR SATURDAY >> Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Ronald Jones will not play, and cornerback Carlton Davis will be a game- time decision Saturday in Detroit. Head coach Bruce Arians said that Jones will not be able to clear COVID19 protocols in time. Davis left last Sunday’s win in Atlanta with a groin injury.
Jones was recovering from surgery on his fractured left pinkie finger when he was placed on the reserve/ COVID
19 list on Dec. 16.
Leonard Fournette likely will make his second straight start for Jones when the Bucs ( 9- 5) face the Lions ( 5- 9). Fournette ran for 49 yards and two touchdowns in the 31- 27 victory against the Falcons.
Tampa Bay will clinch a playoff berth with a win or tie against the Lions, or if the Chicago Bears lose or tie with the Jacksonville Jaguars on Sunday. WARS COACH PRINCE TO SERVE AS LIONS’ HEAD COACH TEMPORARILY >> Detroit Lions interim coach Darrell Bevell is the NFL’s first head coach to miss a game because of COVID- 19 protocols even though he has not tested positive for the coronavirus. The Lions ( 5- 9) will also be without defensive coordinator Cory Undlin, defensive line coach Bo Davis, defensive backs coach Steve Gregory and linebackers coach Ty McKenzie against Tampa Bay ( 9- 5) on Saturday.
Wide receivers coach Robert Prince will be Detroit’s third head coach this season at Ford Field against the Buccaneers, who are a win away from clinching a postseason berth. Bevell was 1- 2 after Matt Patricia was fired last month.
In another key game this weekend, the Browns may have to try and secure a playoff spot — their first since 2002 — on Sunday in New York without starting rookie left tackle Jedrick Wills, who was placed on the COVID- 19 list Thursday.
For the Lions, they will lean on two men to call plays for the first time in an NFL game. Quarterbacks coach Sean Ryan will replace Bevell, who also serves as the team’s offensive coordinator. Evan Rothstein, who helps the team with research and analysis, will calls plays on defense.
CARDINALS LB GARDECK ( KNEE) WILL MISS REST OF SEASON >> Arizona Cardinals linebacker Dennis Gardeck will miss the rest of the season due to a knee injury, coach Kliff Kingsbury said.
Gardeck was injured during last Sunday’s victory over the Philadelphia Eagles. He was caught up in pile of bodies and grabbed for his right knee.