SERIES HISTORY

Minnesota leads the regular season series, having won 18 of 28 contests since the teams first met on October 13, 1968 at Tulane Stadium; the Black and Gold won that matchup 20-17. The Saints would not beat the Vikings again until September 3, 1978, losing six straight contests in the interim.

Though the Vikings have a firm grasp of the overall series record, the Saints have fared much better since the 2006 arrival of Sean Payton as head coach and the unrestricted free agent signing of QB Drew Brees. The teams have met on four occasions since then, and New Orleans has only dropped one, a 2008 meeting at the Superdome.

The Saints enter this week's contest on a threegame winning streak in the series, having won in 2010, 2011, and 2014 by scores of 14-9, 42-20, and 20-9, respectively. During the 2014 contest, Brees was dominant, completing 27-of-35 passes for 293 yards, two touchdowns, and no interceptions. The Saints added 108 yards on the ground, 69 from RB Khiry Robinson.

The Saints and Vikings have met three times in the playoffs, including the Black and Gold's first ever postseason game in 1987, which the Vikings seized, 44-10. After the Saints won their first-ever playoff game after the 2000 season, they ran into the Vikings in the NFC Divisional round and fell again, 34-16. The third time proved to be the charm, however, as the two clubs met at the Louisiana Superdome on January 24, 2010 for the NFC Championship game. Brees completed 17-of-31 passes for 197 yards and three touchdowns while then-Viking and current-Saints RB Zach Line ran for 122 yards and three touchdowns of his own. A late interception of Minnesota QB Brett Favre by CB Tracy Porter sent the game to overtime, and the Saints won, 31-28, off a 40-yard field goal from K Garrett Hartley, sending the Saints to Super Bowl XLIV.