Even the hardcore Minnesota Vikings fans were getting tired of the replays of last year’s “Minneapolis Miracle”, as it turned up so often in media and social media coverage coming up to Sunday night’s rematch between the Vikings and the Saints. This time, largely thanks to Minnesota mistakes, the Saints got the win.

Both teams had turnovers, but New Orleans earned 14 points off Viking errors and Minnesota didn’t capitalize on Harrison Smith’s interception, as Matthew Coller explains:

At 13-10, with the Vikings in front, the much-anticipated contest appeared to be shaping up as expected. A Sunday Night Shootout in front of a crowd that was ready to drive Brees crazy all night.

Then the Vikings caught a break. An overthrown ball by Brees right into the hands of Harrison Smith set Minnesota up to take a double-digit lead into the half.

Instead the Vikings committed back-to-back mistakes that would turn out to not only shape the game but become the trend in the second half.

With 3:03 left in the second quarter, Cousins began dicing up the Saints’ defense again, hitting on two third-and-long conversions, one to Kyle Rudolph and the other to Aldrick Robinson. On first-and-10 from the New Orleans 18, the flung a quick pass to Thielen on a play the Vikings have used with great success throughout this season.

After four yards, the Vikings’ star receiver was drilled by a Saints linebacker, sending the ball tumbling into Lattimore’s hands. He returned it to the Minnesota 33, which might have made it possible for the Vikings to hold the Saints to a field goal, but Laquon Treadwell inexplicably took a 15-yard penalty, setting up an easy touchdown for New Orleans.

At the Daily Norseman, Ted Glover provides his Stock Market Report on the game:

Buy: The coaching decision to go for it on 4th and goal in the first quarter, and 4th and short in the third quarter. I loved the aggression Mike Zimmer showed, both times. In the first quarter, the Saints took the opening drive and scored a touchdown. Minnesota took their opening drive, and then stalled out on the Saints one. On fourth down, Zimmer kept the offense on the board, and it paid off with a nice TD pass to Stefon Diggs.

In the third quarter, on the Vikes opening drive, they faced a fourth and one at the New Orleans 45. After the unfortunate series of events to end the first half, the Vikings needed a spark. A touchdown, or even a field goal, to open the half, would have been a big deal. So the Vikings decided to go for it, and instead of trying to get one yard with Latavius Murray, Kirk Cousins decided a throw to Hands Treadwell was a good idea.

/Narrator voice

It was not a good idea.

Sell: Using a challenge in the first quarter. One of the things that drives me nuts about Mike Zimmer sometimes is his use of challenges. On the first drive of the game for New Orleans, Michael Thomas made a great catch for 20 yards and a first down, and he was in bounds. Replay clearly showed it, Thomas didn’t bobble the ball or anything—it was a good catch. Yet, Zimmer challenged the call and naturally lost. Would three timeouts remaining at the end of the second quarter been enough for the Vikings to try and push the ball downfield to try and score, or not?

Buy: Dan Bailey is a good kicker. He’s literally the second most accurate kicker in NFL history…

Sell: The Vikings kicking. … who can’t make an extra point now that he’s on the Vikings. Vikings kickers are a black hole of misery and suffering … like spending the weekend at your in-laws. In-laws who don’t drink, and won’t let anyone drink in their presence, and are polar opposites of you politcally. And all they want to do is talk politics. Yeah, that’s what Vikings kickers are. Tea-totaling fun suckers that take everything in your life and turn it into a discussion that makes you want to chew glass while you’re walking over a bed of red hot embers just to try and see if intense physical pain will jolt your soulless body to life.

Buy: Kirk Cousins, thrower. Kirk Cousins can chuck the rock. He was 31-41 for 359 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Like he has every week, he makes several throws a game I simply marvel at, and I’m grateful that the Vikings have a bona fide QB running the offense.

Sell: Kirk Cousins, Situational Awareness guy. That said, Granitejaw McDreamy had some head scratching moments. His pick six was remarkably inept, his pocket presence left something to be desired at really key moments in the game, and the way-too-long TD drive in the fourth quarter when they were down 30-13 was flat bad time management. Kirk Cousins didn’t lose this game (although the pick six wasn’t a big helper), but he wasn’t able to overcome those mistakes and win the game, either. And look, when you get a big boy contract, you’re expected to do big boy things. And tonight, he didn’t.

Buy: This was a winnable game for the Vikings. After the Saints went up 7-0, the Vikings really responded. The offense scored TD’s on their first two drives, the defense settled down, and other than a missed extra point because lol of course, the Vikings really seemed to be finding a groove. When you’re up 13-7, you have the ball deep in New Orleans territory with every expectation to at least get a field goal, and you get the ball to open the second half…well, that’s a situation we like to call ‘the catbird seat’.

Sell: This was a winnable game with all the miscues. But once Thielen fumbled, things snowballed for the the Vikings, and whenever they seemed to take one step forward after that, they took two steps back. 23 yard Murray run nullified by a holding penalty. Get a nice drive going to open the second half, drop a 4th and 1 pass. Get something going on offense, take a bad sack. Defense needs to make a stop, they can’t get off the field.

Buy: Adam Thielen went over 100 yards again. So yeah, Thielen’s 100 receiving yards per game streak is alive. It’s legitimately cool, and I hope he gets 100 yards receiving in every game.

Sell: Adam Thielen’s fumble. Something bad happened to the Vikings after Thielen’s fumble. I don’t think the Vikings quit, but I do think Thielen’s fumble and turn of events affected them way more than we usually see happen from a Zimmer-coached team. Normally, the Vikings tend to handle adversity well, but tonight…I don’t know, it felt like the Vikings couldn’t get past it. The offense couldn’t convert a 4th and one and threw a pick six, the Vikings defense had a hard time getting off the field, and gave up an eight minute drive in the second half. That led to a field goal, and pretty much ended whatever hope the Vikings had in winning the game.

So it was an ugly night all the way around, and the Lions come to town before the Vikings get their much needed bye week. With three division games in a row coming up, Minnesota has a chance to really put some distance between them, Detroit, and Green Bay, and take first place back from Chicago.

Let’s see what this team is made of.