Two years on from the "Minneapolis Miracle", the Minnesota Vikings and the New Orleans Saints meet again in the NFL playoffs.
This time, however, it is the Saints who will be playing in front of their own fans when they host the Vikings on Sunday afternoon in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs.
Always a factor in the postseason, home-field advantage is particularly significant at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome, where the the Saints have won seven of their last eight playoff games dating all the way back to 2000.
Conversely, Minnesota hasn't won a playoff game on the road since 2004 and is 2-11 on the road in the postseason dating back to 1988.
New Orleans went 13-3 this season, securing the NFC South title for a franchise record third consecutive year but that will mean little if Sean Payton's team can't put together a successful playoff run.
Over the last three years the Saints have largely built their luck and could have feasibly reached the Super Bowl over the last two seasons, bar for two freakish events.
Two seasons ago, Stefon Diggs' incredible touchdown catch saw the Vikings defeat the Saints in the divisional round, while last year New Orleans was one missed pass interference call away from knocking off the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
This year, the Saints have had to overcome challenges of a different kind. New Orleans lost Drew Brees for five weeks in earlier in the season, but coped admirably without the veteran quarterback as Teddy Bridgewater led the team to a 5-0 record while deputizing for the 40-year-old.
As this graphic provided by Statista shows, the Saints would face the Green Bay Packers on the road should they defeat the Vikings. A trip to Wisconsin, however, should hold no fears for a New Orleans team that has gone 7-1 on the road this season.
Even without Brees, the Saints displayed their trademark balance and ability to adjust and finished the season ranked third in scoring offense and ninth in total offense with 28.6 points and 373.9 yards per game, respectively.
Michael Thomas has developed into arguably the best wide receiver in the league, recording 149 receptions this year and breaking the single-season receptions record held by Pro Football Hall of Famer Marvin Harrison, while running back Alvin Kamara has returned to form over the final two weeks of regular season.
"Sean [Payton] does a great job of scheming him to be able to get him in a lot of great situations," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said of Thomas when asked about the danger posed by the wide receiver.
"Drew [Brees] knows where he is going to be. He does a great job of catching the ball in traffic. He does a great job of running routes. With the combination of all those things he is a really tough matchup."
After his injury lay-off, Brees has been back to his best. Last month, the veteran signal caller broke Peyton Manning's all-time record for touchdown passes.
His Vikings counterpart, Kirk Cousins, has been similarly impressive throwing for 3,603 yards and 26 touchdowns with a 69.1 completion percentage.
Cousins played a crucial role in the Vikings going 10-6 this season—the second time in the last three seasons Zimmer has overseen at least 10 regular season wins—but he and Brees have been trending in different directions recently.
While the Saints signal caller has thrown 16 touchdown passes without an interception in the last five weeks, Cousins has passed for over 250 yards just once in the last four games and has thrown three picks in that period.
The Vikings, however, could be boosted by the return of Dalvin Cook. The running back has missed the last two games because of a chest injury but should be fully fit for Sunday.
After a devastating start to the season, Cook averaged only 3.1 yards per carry in his final four games of the regular season but remains a hugely influential player.
"There are new pieces and some things they're doing that are a little different offensively," Payton told the Saints' official website.
"I think that they have had an exceptional year when you look at what they've done running the ball, in their scoring offense, the production.
Here's all you need to know ahead of Sunday.
When and where is the game?
The New Orleans Saints host the Minnesota Vikings at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, on Sunday, January 5.
Kick-off is scheduled for 1:05 p.m. ET.
TV coverage
The game will be broadcast nationally by FOX
Live stream
A live stream will be available via FOX's digital platforms, the FOX Go app and fuboTV.
Form
The Saints thrashed the Panthers 42-10 on the road in Carolina in Week 17, while the Vikings rested a number of starters in their 21-19 loss to the Chicago Bears.
Series record
Minnesota leads the all-time series 22-12 and has won two of the last three meetings against the Saints, but lost the last encounter against New Orleans 30-20 in October 2018.
Minnesota also has the upper hand in the playoffs, leading the all-time series 3-1.
Odds
According to BetOnline, the Saints are eight-point favorites and are 6/25 to cover the spread, while the Vikings are 13/4 underdogs.
The over/under line in terms of total points scored is set at 49.5.
