So where were you when Case Keenum connected with Stefon Diggs on a shocking 61-yard touchdown pass on the game’s final play to beat the New Orleans Saints 29-24 in the NFC Divisional playoffs on Jan. 14, 2018?
They quickly called the play that broke Black-and-Gold hearts everywhere, “The Minneapolis Miracle.”
It’s seemingly on every NFL highlight film you see, it’s on commercials and it remains the climactic scene of nightmares endured by Saints diehards across the region since last season’s abrupt ending.
Fortunately, or perhaps unfortunately, the NFL schedule unleashes a sense of humor on occasion.
The Saints won’t have to wait very long to attempt a measure of revenge on the Purple People Eaters.
At 7:20 p.m. Sunday night on NBC, the Saints will return to the scene of the dreaded play Who Dat fans would love to forget when NFC South-leading New Orleans (5-1) challenges the NFC North-leading Vikings (4-2-1) on national TV.
As squarely focused on redemption as Saints fans likely have been since the pain of Diggs’ touchdown celebration finally allowed them to speak again, a lot has actually changed in these past 10 months.
For one, the Saints offense seemed to expose something in Minnesota’s defense in the second half, and the Vikings haven’t been the same since.
The Vikings entered the game as the NFL’s top-rated defense by a long shot. They promptly limited Drew Brees and Company to zero points, nine first downs and 149 total yards in the first half.
By the end of the second half, the Saints had collected 24 points, 23 first downs and 358 total yards.
The next week, the Eagles plastered Minnesota 38-7.
And so far this season, the Vikings have slipped to the No. 11-rated defense, despite playing the two lowest-ranked offenses in the league.
Another big change is Keenum is now in Denver and Kirk Cousins is Minnesota’s quarterback, which is a definite upgrade.
New Orleans has the No. 28-ranked pass defense in the league, so no one should be surprised if this game is a total shootout.
The other big change is harder to put a finger on.
Since enduring the agony of that freak loss in Minnesota in January, an awful lot has gone the Saints' way.
On the surface, Cleveland’s Zane Gonzalez handed the Saints a win with numerous missed field goals for only the fifth win in 18 tries against Cleveland. Then, last Sunday, Baltimore Ravens kicker Justin Tucker missed the first extra point of his career for only the second win in seven games against Baltimore.
Besides those obvious good breaks, though, the Saints have been the beneficiary of many fortunate calls, and even a few replay challenges have gone their way for a change.
So much so that one has to wonder if the Saints are now somehow getting repaid with good fortune after having to suffer the ultimate misfortune of the Minneapolis Miracle.
It may be too early for a final report card on that theory, but this team is certainly fortunate to be 5-1.
Speaking of 5-1, this is the eighth time in franchise history that New Orleans has won at least five of its first six games. Five of those initial seven teams that started 5-1 qualified for the playoffs (1992, 2002 the exceptions).
Here are few other intriguing facts to sink your teeth into before settling for Sunday’s fateful return to Minnesota.
- The Saints are 19-14 overall on Sunday Night Football, but have won 11 of their last 13.
- The only time the Saints have ever played the Vikings on Sunday Night was a 38-33 loss in 2004. Minnesota’s starting quarterback that night was Daunte Culpepper … yes, the guy the Dolphins chose over Drew Brees to allow Brees to come to New Orleans.
- The Saints are 11-22 overall against the Vikings, including just 3-14 in Minnesota. Who was the starting quarterback the last time New Orleans beat the Vikings? That would be the Saints current backup quarterback Teddy Bridgewater.
- And speaking of revenge, of the nine previous teams that beat New Orleans in the playoffs, the Saints played seven of them the following regular season.
- New Orleans are 2-5 in those games – beating Atlanta 10-7 in 1992 and ironically defeating Minnesota 28-15 in 2001.
Perhaps that’s another good sign for a 2018 Saints team already proficient at settling scores.
