This week, the New Orleans Saints will face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 5 of the 2026 regular season. To break it down, Christopher Gates of Daily Norseman joins us to preview this weekend’s matchup.
NJ: Through the first four games, while the Vikings remain undefeated, the offense has struggled to consistently move the ball downfield and put the ball in the endzone. What has been the cause of this for Minnesota?
CG: A lot of it has been the play at the quarterback position. For the most part, the offensive
line has held up relatively well, and the running game has done its job through the first few weeks of the year, but the quarterback play has been mostly bad for the first four games. Whether it’s been Carson Wentz or Kyler Murray, the passing game just hasn’t gotten going. Sure, Justin Jefferson missed most of the Tampa Bay game and all of the Miami game with an ankle injury, but there’s still enough talent at the skill positions without him for this team to be able to move the ball through the air without him. We saw a few flashes at the end of the Dolphins’ game on Sunday, but we’ll have to see if that carries over into this Sunday’s game or not.
NJ: Who are some notable names who will be sidelined for the Vikings on Sunday against the Saints? Is there a particular area in which New Orleans could exploit?
CG: Jefferson’s status is still in question for Sunday, although he’s stated that the plan is for him to play in front of the fans in his native Louisiana for the first time. His only other trip to the Superdome came in the COVID year, his rookie season, when there were limited fans in attendance, so I’m sure he’d love nothing more than to be out there on Sunday. He was limited in Wednesday’s first practice, so we’ll see how he progresses this week. Wide receiver Jordan Addison didn’t practice on Wednesday with a hamstring issue, but that’s being described as minor and doesn’t sound like it’s going to prevent him from playing this week. Left tackle Christian Darrisaw is currently in concussion protocol after having to leave the game against the Dolphins and didn’t practice on Wednesday, so he’s definitely in doubt, and left guard Donovan Jackson is done for the year after tearing his meniscus on Sunday. That means the entire left side of the offensive line could be down for the Vikings, which I’m sure the Saints would definitely try to take advantage of. The offensive line has been pretty solid for the Vikings this year, but having to replace both of the guys on your quarterback’s blind side could prove problematic.
NJ: With J.J. McCarthy officially out of the picture in Minnesota, has Kyler Murray shown he can be the answer at quarterback? What have been some of his strengths and weaknesses so far?
CG: I’ve gone on record several times saying that I’ve never been particularly impressed with Murray, going back to when he was in Arizona. He’s played about 8 1/2 quarters of football for the Vikings so far this season and has been pretty bad for about 7 1/2 of them. I mean, Carson Wentz hasn’t been great either, but you don’t expect Carson Wentz to be great. Murray has shown some mobility, even though the Vikings don’t seem to be all that willing to exploit that mobility with rollouts or anything like that. He did come alive in the fourth quarter against Miami, and there’s a lot of hope that he can carry that over to this Sunday. As far as being the long-term answer, I don’t know if I’d be willing to give him what seems to be the standard rate for quarterbacks in this league now to be the guy for the next 3-4 years. His contract has a no-tag clause in it, so the Vikings might end up with him on a more modest deal, but I honestly just wish they could find a guy in the Draft who could be their answer for the next 10-12 years so that we wouldn’t have to play the “What are we doing at quarterback?” game every year.
NJ: Who is one Vikings player you think Saints fans should keep an eye on Sunday—someone who may not receive much national attention but could have a strong performance?
CG: Defensive lineman Jalen Redmond probably still isn’t getting the level of recognition that he should outside of Minnesota, but Saints fans will almost certainly know who he is by the time Sunday’s game is over. There are more recognizable names on the Vikings’ defense that get a lot of attention, but Redmond is the guy doing the dirty work on the inside who makes it possible for a lot of those guys to go around making plays. He can get pressure on the quarterback from the interior and is a force against the run as well. The interior of the Saints’ offensive line is going to have their work cut out for them trying to slow down #61 all afternoon.
NJ: According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Vikings (-130) are currently 1.5-point favorites over the Saints (+110) in Sunday’s matchup; what is your final score prediction and how do you see the game playing out?
CG: The only bet I think you can take for sure in this one is to hammer the under, which is currently sitting at 42.5. I know the Saints have allowed the most points in the NFL through the first four weeks, but the Vikings aren’t exactly scoring points at a breakneck pace or anything. I think that the Minnesota defense is going to make things difficult for young Tyler Shough, and while they may get a few points on the board, the Vikings. . .as they’ve done for much of the early part of this season. . .will do just enough to escape with a win. Call it 17-13, Vikings.
Thank you again to Christopher Gates for joining us to preview this week’s matchup! You can check out the rest of his work here.
