Friday’s NFL Matchup

MINNESOTA (6-8) AT NEW ORLEANS (10-4)

KICKOFF: 4:30 p.m. FOX, NFL

OPENING LINE: Saints by 61⁄

2

RECORD VS. SPREAD: Vikings 6-8, Saints 7-6-1

SERIES RECORD: Vikings lead 23-12

LAST MEETING: Vikings beat Saints 26-20 in playoffs, on Jan. 5, at New Orleans

LAST WEEK: Vikings lost to Bears 33-27; Saints lost to Chiefs 32-29

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES: While the Vikings have won the past two playoff encounters, the Saints have won four of the past five regular-season meetings. … Vikings RB Dalvin Cook, who was a Pro Bowl selection for the second straight season, leads the NFL with 1,833 yards from scrimmage to rank fourth in team history with two games to go. … WR Adam Thielen has a career-high 13 TD catches, including a leaguemost 12 TD receptions inside the 20-yard line. … WR Justin Jefferson leads all rookies with 73 receptions and 1,182 receiving yards. His reception total has surpassed Randy Moss (69 in 1998) for most in franchise history by a rookie, while Jefferson’s yardage total ranks second to Moss for a rookie (1,313). … According to SportRadar, the Vikings have had a total of 2,062 snaps on defense played by rookies, the third most in the NFL behind Carolina (3,034) and Jacksonville (2,382) and the most in a season since coach Mike Zimmer was hired in 2014. … The Vikings’ defense has held opponents to a 37.58% touchdown rate in goal-to-go situations this season, the best mark in the NFL. … In three career regularseason games against the Saints, Vikings QB Kirk Cousins has averaged 335 yards and three TDs passing while throwing only one interception in the span of all three games. … The Saints can clinch the NFC South with a victory or Tampa Bay loss and can stay alive for the NFC’s top playoff seed with a victory and a Green Bay loss. … New Orleans has lost two straight but has yet to lose three straight this season. … QB

Drew Brees returned from a four-game absence caused by rib and lung injuries last week and passed for three TDs and one interception. … Brees has 21 TD passes this season and has 17 seasons with at least 20, the second most in NFL history behind Tom Brady’s 18. … Brees needs 154 yards passing to become the first QB in NFL history with 80,000. … RB Alvin Kamara ranks third in the NFL in scrimmage yards (1,516) and is tied for third in total TDs (15). … Kamara leads all RBs with 80 receptions and has joined Hall of Famer Marshall Faulk (1998-2002) as the only running backs with 80 or more receptions in four consecutive seasons. … Kamara has TDs in each of his past three games. He has four TDs (two rushing, two receiving) in four career games vs. Minnesota, including the postseason. … RB Latavius Murray had a TD receiving last week. Murray had 1,664 scrimmage yards and 14 TDs rushing in two seasons (2017-18) with the Vikings. … WR Emmanuel Sanders led New Orleans with 76 yards receiving last week. Sanders is one of three receivers ( T.Y. Hilton and Julio Jones) with 500 or more yards receiving in each of the past nine seasons. … TE Jared Cook has a TD catch in two of his last three games and is the only tight end with at least six TDs receiving in each of the past three seasons.