In a wild game that was a tale of two halves, the Minnesota Vikings survived a furious comeback from the New Orleans Saints with a 27-19 win.
The Vikings got off to a hot start. Josh Dobbs looked incredible from the start, hitting receivers all over the field. His favorite was T.J. Hockenson, connecting for 10 receptions for 128 yards and a touchdown.
The first half was a great one for the Vikings. They torched the Saints on both sides of the ball and jumped out to a 24-3 lead. What was so impressive with Dobbs’ performance was how he stayed in the pocket trying to attack with the passing game before scrambling to create outside of structure.
At halftime, the Vikings were up 24-3 and everything was in the Vikings’ favor. The second half changed things when Derek Carr left the game with a shoulder injury and a concussion.
In came Jameis Winston, who led two touchdown drives in the second half with passes to Chris Olave and A.T. Perry. There were plenty of chances for the Vikings to extend the lead, but they kept shooting themselves in the foot.
Greg Joseph missed a 54-yard field goal and a holding call took away a Ty Chandler rushing touchdown. What they did do was force two Jameis Winston interceptions in the fourth quarter, including one with less than two minutes remaining by Byron Murphy Jr.
A last second Hail Mary failed and the Vikings secured their fifth-straight win and are now just 1.5 games behind the division-leading Detroit Lions.
Up next for the Vikings are the Denver Broncos on Sunday night football.
