The 2-1 Minnesota Vikings and the 1-2 New Orleans Saints head overseas to take part in the NFL's annual pilgrimage to London . The Vikings bounced back from a drubbing in Philly with a come-from-behind win over the Lions on Sunday. The Saints have now dropped two-straight games after squeaking out an opening-day win over Atlanta to kick off the season. On Sunday, the Saints fell 22-14 at Carolina. The kickoff for this NFC clash is scheduled for 9:30am EST.
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The Minnesota Vikings improved to 2-1 on Sunday with a 28-24 win over the hard-luck Detroit Lions. The Vikings proved resilient on Sunday after the Lions defense spent the afternoon double-teaming Kirk Cousins favorite target, Justin Jefferson. Jefferson would finish the day with just three catches for 14 yards. Cousins, who was 24-41 for 260 yards and a touchdown, had to look at his secondary receivers all afternoon. Adam Thielen and K.J. Osborn combined for 11 catches, 134 yards and two touchdowns. Osborn's 28-yard touchdown grab with 45 seconds left was the difference maker.
“That's something that's expected of every single one of us. All of us are playmakers. All of us have that talent to really win in this league,” said Justin Jefferson to ESPN.
Minnesota was just 2-of-9 on third down conversions on the day and was out-gained overall by Detroit 416-373. The turnover differential was even as the Lions threw one interception while the Vikings lost a fumble. The Vikings defense held the Lions to just 3-of-16 on third down conversions but the always aggressive Lions did convert on 4-of-6 fourth down conversions. The Vikings defense did not record a sack and had four tackles for loss in the win.
The experts like the #Vikings chances to remain undefeated in their games played in London.
— Minnesota Vikings (@Vikings) September 30, 2022
The Vikings are hoping to become the first NFL team to go 3-0 in London with a win on Sunday morning. Here's a look at the Vikings by the numbers so far this season. They are 16th in scoring offense and 19th in total offense. Minnesota is 19th in rushing offense and 15th in passing defense through three weeks. On the defensive side of the ball, Minnesota is 10th in scoring defense but just 31st in total defense. They are 24th against the run and 29th against the pass. Minnesota sits 13th in turnover differential.
Key Injuries: Outside linebacker Za'Darius Smith (knee) and cornerback Andrew Booth, Jr., (quadriceps) did not participate in Thursday's practice but Dalvin Cook (shoulder), fullback C.J. Ham (foot), linebacker Eric Kendricks (toe) and safety Harrison Smith (concussion) are all back and active prior to Sunday's game.