>+𝐿𝐼𝒱𝐸’’• “Vikings vs Saints”(Livestream) — NFL FREE, TV channel 2021
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The Minnesota Vikings and New Orleans Saints will meet in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome on Christmas Day with both teams hoping to unwrap a victory. Both teams enter this special holiday get-together trying to snap two-game losing streaks.

Minnesota (6–8) fell at home to Chicago this past Sunday, losing 33–27. The Vikings not only trail the Bears in the NFC North standings, but they also are two games behind the Cardinals, who currently holds the final wild-card spot. This is a must-win game if Minnesota wants to have even a glimmer of hope of sneaking into the playoffs.

New Orleans (10–4) also has lost two in a row following Kansas City’s 32–29 victory in the Superdome this past Sunday. Drew Brees returned after missing four games with a punctured lung and 11 cracked ribs, but he showed plenty of rust early and despite a late rally, the Chiefs were able to hold on. The Saints trail Green Bay for the coveted top seed and first-round bye while their lead in the NFC South over Tampa Bay has been trimmed to just one game. But the good news is that New Orleans has already punched its postseason ticket and can secure the division title with a win over Minnesota

This will be the fourth time these teams have played each other in the last four seasons. Two of these matchups have taken place in the playoffs, including the most recent one from last season when the Vikings upset the Saints 26–20 in the Wild Card Round.

Minnesota at New Orleans

Kickoff: Friday, Dec. 25 at 4:30 p.m. ET

TV: FOX

Spread: Saints -7

Three Things to Watch

1. Does Drew Brees have any dependable wide receivers?

Due to injuries and COVID-19 protocols, the starting wide receivers have varied greatly for New Orleans. None have started every game. The Saints have been forced to elevate receivers from the practice squad but have yet to produce much success with any of them.

Tre’Quan Smith is the only wideout who has appeared in every game (made 10 starts) so far. This season, he has caught 34 passes for 448 yards and four touchdowns. He left last week’s game against Kansas City with an ankle injury and his status is very much up in the air.

Emmanuel Sanders, the big offseason acquisition at the position, has appeared in 12 games this season. He’s made just three starts but still ranks second on the team in receptions (48) and receiving yards (580), to go along with four touchdowns.

Michael Thomas, the reigning NFL Offensive Player of the Year, has played in just seven games up to this point. He’s current on injured reserve as the team hopes he can fully recover from his ankle injury for the playoffs. Even with the injuries, Thomas is third on the team in receptions (40), underscoring the depth problem for New Orleans.

Brees has tight end Jared Cook (team-high six touchdown catches) and, of course, running back Alvin Kamara (leads in catches and yards) to throw to, but someone else on the roster needs to step up to force defenses to change up its coverage schemes. Minnesota can certainly be thrown on (252.4 ypg, 27 TDs, 12 INTs); Brees just needs to have time to find an open receiver.

2. Can any of the Saints’ defensive backs contain Justin Jefferson?

On the other side, Minnesota has found its newest weapon in the passing game. Jefferson, the team’s first-round pick, is making a strong case for the Associated Press NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Award. The former LSU Tiger is putting together a historic debut with 73 catches for 1,182 yards and seven touchdowns. He’s eighth in the NFL in yards and is averaging 16.2 yards per reception. He’s had six 100-yard receiving games, which is two more than New Orleans as a team.

Defensively, three wide receivers have posted 100 or more receiving yards against the Saints this season — Green Bay’s Allen Lazard (6 receptions, 146 yards, 1 touchdown), the Los Angeles Chargers’ Mike Williams (5 receptions, 109 yards, 2 touchdowns), and Atlanta’s Calvin Ridley (5 receptions, 108 yards). (Las Vegas tight end Darren Waller also has posted a 100-yard game against New Orleans.)

New Orleans has fared pretty well overall against the pass this season, ranking fifth at 210.9 yards per game allowed. But teams also have said some success through the air against the Saints, as evidenced by the 25 touchdown passes surrendered compared to 13 interceptions. Last week, Patrick Mahomes threw for 254 yards and three touchdowns as Kansas City posted 411 total yards on 92 plays, dominating time of possession by holding onto the ball for more than 41 minutes.

Minnesota’s offense isn’t on the same level as the defending Super Bowl champs, but Jefferson and fellow wideout Adam Thielen give Kirk Cousins two reliable, explosive options to throw to, and that’s before taking Dalvin Cook, the league’s №2 rusher, into account.

3. Will the Vikings be able to protect Cousins?

Pass protection is always a key for any team facing the Saints. New Orleans is tied for sixth in the league with 40 sacks, including four of Mahomes last Sunday. Trey Hendrickson has enjoyed a breakout season, tied for second in the NFL with 12.5 sacks. He and Cameron Jordan have made a living in opponents’ backfield this season each credited with 11 tackles for a loss.

Cousins has been sacked 34 times — on 7.2 percent of his pass attempts. But in Cousins’ case, it’s more than just losing yards on sacks. It’s the cumulative effect pressure can have on him. Cousins is having a solid season with 3,569 passing yards and 29 touchdowns, but he also has committed 18 turnovers, including 13 interceptions (tied for second-most). If the Saints are successful in closing the pocket on him more miscues could follow.

Final Analysis

Minnesota’s postseason hopes are like a thin thread holding up a heavy ornament on a Christmas tree. It will not take much for that to snap and the Vikings’ dreams of reaching the playoffs to shatter. In order to avoid elimination, they not only must beat the Saints in their own building but also get help from San Francisco (at Arizona) and Jacksonville (vs. Chicago).

New Orleans is slumping but remains in an enviable position. A win over the Vikings and one of their Christmas gifts will be another NFC South title. Drew Brees and company have no intention of letting Minnesota spoil their plans this time around.

In a span of three seasons, the Minnesota Vikings managed to become a hated nemesis of the New Orleans Saints. The Vikings eliminated the Saints from the playoffs twice during that stretch, doing so with a touchdown on the final play on both occasions. Minnesota visits New Orleans on Friday as part of the NFL Christmas Day 2020 schedule. Kickoff from the Mercedes-Benz Superdome is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. ET.

After knocking off the Saints with the “Minneapolis Miracle” in the 2017 NFC Divisional playoffs, the Vikings (6–8) posted an overtime victory on the road in the Wild-Card round last season. The Saints (10–4) are making their third attempt to clinch the NFC South title after suffering back-to-back three-point losses against the Eagles and Chiefs. New Orleans is a seven-point favorite in the latest Saints vs. Vikings odds from William Hill Sportsbook, while the over-under is 51. Before locking in any Vikings vs. Saints picks, make sure you see the latest NFL predictions from SportsLine’s proven projection model.

The model, which simulates every NFL game 10,000 times, is up almost $7,900 for $100 players on top-rated NFL picks since its inception five-plus years ago. It is a sizzling 22–11 on top-rated NFL picks this season, returning over $800. The model also enters Week 16 on an incredible 118–76 run on top-rated NFL picks that dates back to the 2017 season.

The model ranked in the Top 10 on NFLPickWatch in three of the past four years on straight-up NFL picks and beat more than 95 percent of CBS Sports office pool players three times during that span. Anyone who has followed it is way up.

Now, the model has set its sights on Saints vs. Vikings. You can visit SportsLine now to see the picks. Here are the NFL odds from William Hill and trends for Vikings vs. Saints:

Saints vs. Vikings spread: New Orleans -7

Saints vs. Vikings over-under: 51 points

Saints vs. Vikings money line: New Orleans -310, Minnesota +255

NO: Saints are 9–2 against the spread in their last 11 games against teams with losing records

MIN: Vikings have failed to cover their last five contests

Why the Saints can cover

In addition to being the team’s top rusher, Saints running back Alvin Kamara leads the team in catches (80) and receiving yards (739) thanks to injuries that limited Michael Thomas to seven games this year.

Kamara is two touchdowns behind Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill (17) for the league lead, as he has run for 10 scores and hauled in five TD passes.

One of those receptions came in last Sunday’s 32–29 home setback against the Chiefs, as quarterback Drew Brees returned from a four-game absence due to lung and rib injuries to throw for three scores. The 41-year-old has multiple scoring passes in seven of his 10 outings and been picked off just four times this season.

Why the Vikings can cover

Dalvin Cook ran for 132 yards and a touchdown against the Bears, increasing his career highs to 1,484 and 15, respectively. The 25-year-old from Florida State has reached triple-digit yardage in three consecutive games and eight overall this season while rushing for a TD in 10 contests. Cook is the second-leading rusher in the NFL and tied for first in rushing TDs.

Justin Jefferson has been doing his best to fill the void created when Stefon Diggs was traded to Buffalo in March. Selected with the 22nd overall pick in the 2020 NFL Draft, Jefferson leads the Vikings with 73 catches and 1,182 yards while adding seven touchdown receptions. He is eighth in the league in receiving yards after hauling in eight passes for 104 last Sunday for his sixth 100-yard performance of the year.

NEW ORLEANS — — Vikings receiver Adam Thielen is getting accustomed to playing high-stakes, high-intensity games against the New Orleans Saints.

Here comes another one on Christmas Day.

“Yeah, it’s kind of crazy preparing for them; it almost feels like a divisional opponent,” Thielen said. “It’s always a difficult game. It’s always a tough defense and we always have our work cut out for us. I’m assuming it’ll be similar again on Friday.”

This will be the fifth meeting in four years, including two playoff games in which Minnesota scored the winning touchdown on the final play of each.

A victory would allow the Vikings (6–8) to celebrate the holiday by keeping alive thin hopes of sneaking into the playoffs. For the Saints (10–4), a victory would clinch the NFC South for a fourth straight season and keep alive hopes of winning the top seed in the conference — if Green Bay losses its last two games.

The loser will head into the new year on a three-game skid, but the Saints have the benefit of knowing they’ll be in the playoffs regardless.

New Orleans has double-digit wins in each of the past four regular-seasons meetings, only to see their last three playoff runs end short of the Super Bowl, with two losses in overtime and the first coming on a 62-yard Minnesota TD as time expired in regulation.

The Saints’ recent wobbles beg the question whether a similar playoff disappointment is again in store. But coach Sean Payton prefers to focus on why this team should be ready to take the next step.

“I love the grit, the toughness of this team. They’ve come back, played their tails off the next year, got on a roll again this year,” Payton said, referring to New Orleans’ nine-game winning streak earlier this year. “Will it need to be the Super Bowl (for the season to be considered successful). Probably so. But you know what? That is a good measuring stick. And that gives you an indication of how organizationally the culture’s changed, and we embrace that.

Saints quarterback Drew Brees has been trying a new type of protective vest under his jersey since returning last week from rib fractures and a lung puncture that sidelined him for a month. Brees said he didn’t find it too restrictive, noting he played with “a bigger, thicker flak jacket” early in his career before switching to a thinner model molded to his ribs in recent seasons.

“Everybody comes out of the woodwork when you have rib injuries, and tells you that, ‘Hey, wear this. You can jump on a grenade you’ll be OK,’ ” Brees continued.

He said the padding he’s trying out now “supposedly” would offer grenade-blast protection, but added, “I won’t be the one to prove that theory.”

The 41-year-old Brees passed for 234 yards and three touchdowns with his new torso padding in a 32–29 loss to Kansas City last week. He needs 154 yards to become the first QB in NFL history to pass for 80,000 career yards.

BANGED UP

Minnesota’s young defense is coming off one of its worst performances this season in a 33–27 loss to Chicago. To make matters worse, the injuries have piled up in this shortened week.

Five defensive linemen and three linebackers were listed on the injury report, including middle linebacker Eric Kendricks (calf), who has missed the last three games. That doesn’t include defensive end Danielle Hunter, who has missed the entire season, and outside linebacker Anthony Barr, who was hurt in Week 2.

“You always could use some extra time when you’ve got some injuries,” Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. “We’ve got to get other guys ready to go.”

The Vikings have just four sacks in the last five games and have allowed 28.2 points per game in that span.

COOK CONTAINMENT

The Saints’ third-ranked defense has had two of its worst games against the run during the current two-game skid, allowing 179 or more yards rushing in each. Now they have to contend with Minnesota’s dynamic Dalvin Cook, who has 1,833 yards from scrimmage.

“He’s fast, he makes great decisions,” Saints defensive end Cam Jordan said. “He’s put on a show.

“The last couple games, I think we could’ve done a little bit better in our run game,” Jordan added. “We’re going to focus on that, get back to our fundamentals, get back to playing our defense that we want to play. And once you make a team one-dimensional, we can really start attacking them