Saints at Vikings

TV: Monday, 7:10, ESPN (Sean McDonough, Jon Gruden, Lisa Salters)

The matchup: New Orleans is trying to reverse a disturbing losing trend, and the fates of QB Drew Brees and coach Sean Payton could hang in the balance. If Brees and the offense remain productive and the defense does its job, the Saints could make noise in the NFC South, which has sent Atlanta and Carolina to the Super Bowl the last two seasons. ... It’s the polar opposite in Minnesota, where coach Mike Zimmer and GM Rick Spielman sought to improve a punchless offense to complement an elite defense. That’s why RB Adrian Peterson waws released. They also signed free agents RB Latavius Murray and Ts Riley Reiff and Mike Remmers and drafted RB Dalvin Cook and C Pat Elflein. Those moves were done in response to a season-ending 3-8 freefall after a 5-0 start.