It looked like the Vikings had taken control of Sunday’s matchup with the Saints, but New Orleans just changed the game with a turnover.
But the game remains tied after a missed extra point.
On third-and-15 from the New Orleans 19, Kyler Murray connected with Myles Price on a swing pass to the left. But Martin Emerson punched the ball out, with Jonas Sanker recovering the loose ball and running 87 yards for a touchdown.
But Daniel Carlson’s extra point was no good, with the kicker sending it wide left. That kept the score tied at 13-13.
The Saints have struggled offensively, only picking up seven first downs so far on Sunday with the game late in the third quarter. Tyler Shough has been under constant pressure, currently 10-of-14 for 57 yards with an interception.
But the Saints’ defense has kept the team in the game.
Saints Clips
At long, long last, the Vikings have scored an offensive touchdown.
Back in his home state of Louisiana, Justin Jefferson made an outstanding catch in the back of the end zone for a 15-yard touchdown, giving the Vikings a 13-7 lead.
It was Jefferson’s first score since the fourth quarter of Week 1.
Minnesota hadn’t scored a touchdown since Week 3.
Jefferson now has five catches for 71 yards.
Murray is 17-of-21 for 164 yards with a TD.
Neither the Saints nor the Vikings have been able to put much together consistently on offense in the first 30 minutes on Sunday, but New Orleans has a 7-6 halftime lead.
Minnesota scored first on a Will Reichard 40-yard field goal in the first quarter.
New Orleans responded with a long drive in the second period, with Kendre Miller scoring on a 2-yard run to cap a 15-play, 66-yard drive.
Reichard then hit from 54 to cut New Orleans’ lead to one as time expired on the second quarter.
Vikings quarterback Kyler Murray started the game 12-of-12 passing, finishing the first half 15-of-18 for 143 yards.
Aaron Jones had 10 carries for 36 yards, with a critical fumble deep in the red zone that kept the Vikings off the board.
Justin Jefferson has four receptions for 56 yards.
On the other side, Tyler Shough is 8-of-11 for 37 yards. New Orleans has five first downs, 84 total yards, and is 1-of-6 on third down.
New Orleans will receive the second-half kickoff.
The tailback-needy Seahawks turned last week to a receiver who has a history of playing the running back position. And Rashid Shaheed delivered.
Shaheed told reporters this week that he played tailback in high school and college. He made the switch to receiver during his sophomore season at Weber State.
“Once I figured out that I wasn’t going to be a big person, I made that decision that I didn’t want to get hit by linebackers,” Shaheed said.
First, they have to catch him. On his 28-yard touchdown run last week against the Chargers, no one touched him.
“I liked it a lot,” Shaheed said. “It was something that we’ve been trying to key in on for a few weeks now, and to get it ran and executed was really fun.”
He said it was harder to go from running back to receiver than receiver to running back.
“As a running back, you can just get the ball and make something happen,” Shaheed said. “As a receiver, there are so many other things that need to happen around the play for you to get the ball. I feel like I am still continuing to learn at the receiver position knowing I was late to the party.”
Shaheed clearly wants to play some more tailback for the Seahawks.
“Just any chance I can get to have the ball in my hands,” Shaheed said. “Growing up playing running back allows me to have a different feel for the game, and I give that a lot of credit.”
The best part for Shaheed is that he’s getting paid like a receiver. In fact, his three-year deal pays out $17 million per year from signing; that’s more than the average annual value of the Bijan Robinson and Jahmyr Gibbs contracts, when assessed not in new-money terms but from the moment pen was put to paper.
The Vikings are already down one key offensive contributor and now have another with an injury concern.
Running back Aaron Jones is questionable to return with a knee injury.
Jones was injured on a play late in the first quarter where he fumbled inside the 10-yard line. According to multiple reporters on the scene, Jones limped to the sideline and was then examined in the medical tent.
But tight end T.J. Hockenson has been ruled out with a concussion. He went down early in the first quarter.
While he was able to walk off the field under his own power, he was examined in the medical tent and then in the locker room where he was ruled out.
UPDATE 1:51 p.m. ET: Jones has returned to the game.
The Vikings had both of their top wide receivers listed as questionable on their final injury report of Week 5 and the gameday decisions went in different directions.
Justin Jefferson will play after missing last Sunday’s win over the Dolphins with an ankle injury, but Jordan Addison will miss the game with a hamstring injury. There was some thought that Odell Beckham Jr. would make his Vikings debut on Sunday, but he is also inactive.
Beckham signed to the practice squad this week and was elevated on Saturday, but Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell said he’d only play if the team was missing one of the other wideouts. They are, but Beckham is still out of the lineup. Jauan Jennings, Tai Felton, Myles Price, and practice squad elevation Jeshaun Jones are the other wideouts.
Vikings at Saints
Vikings: WR Jordan Addison, WR Odell Beckham Jr., S Jakobe Thomas, QB Max Brosmer, CB Chuck Demmings, OT Christian Darrisaw, DL Elijah Williams
Saints: QB Zach Wilson, LB Anfernee Jennings, S Mike Reid, LB Kaden Elliss, G Jeremiah Wright, DL Vernon Broughton, DL Nathan Shepherd
Bears at Packers
Bears: QB Caleb Williams, RB Kyle Monangai, OL Ozzy Trapilo, LB Keyshaun Elliott, DL Jamree Kromah, DL Jayden Loving.
Packers: OL Jacob Monk, OL Aaron Banks, OL Donovan Jennings, DL Anthony Campbell
Bengals at Dolphins
Bengals: S Kyle Dugger, OT Myles Hinton, TE Jack Endries, WR Colbie Young, OL Connor Lew, DT Landon Robinson
Dolphins: WR Caleb Douglas, RB Kaytron Allen, CB Reese Taylor, DE Rob Beal, OL DJ Campbell, TE Justin Joly, OL Chukwuebuka Godrick
Raiders at Patriots
Raiders: WR Jalen Nailor, S Tristin McCollum, S Dalton Johnson, C Trey Zuhn, DT J.J. Pegues, RB Roman Hemby, QB Aidan O’Connell
Patriots: QB Behren Morton, OT Dametrious Crownover, CB Christian Gonzalez, CB Carlton Davis, CB Karon Prunty, CB Channing Canada
Browns at Jets
Browns: QB Taylen Green, WR Tylan Wallace, TE Carsen Ryan, C Parker Brailsford, G Teven Jenkins, DT Mike Hall Jr., DT Mason Graham
Jets: RB Breece Hall, WR Adonai Mitchell, G Dylan Parham, LB Nate Lynn, LB Kiko Mauigoa, CB Nahshon Wright
Colts at Steelers
Colts: LB Jaylon Carlies, WR Ashton Dulin, QB Riley Leonard, WR Darius Slayton, G Dalton Tucker
Steelers: RB Rico Dowdle, QB Drew Allar, QB Will Howard, RB Eli Heidenreich, CB Jamel Dean, CB Terell Smith, DL Kevin Jobity
Texans at Titans
Texans: CB Collin Wright, DE Chris Braswell, DE Sabastian Harsh, LB Aiden Fisher, G Febechi Nwaiwu, OT Nate Thomas, TE Marlin Klein
Titans: RB Nick Singleton, RB Michael Carter, S Amani Hooker, CB Jaylon Jones, T Brandon Crenshaw-Dickson, TE David Martin-Robinson, DT Jackie Marshall
Giants at Commanders
Giants: RB Devin Singletary, OL J.C. Davis, DL Bobby Jamison-Travis, S Jason Pinnock, CB Nikko Reed, QB Jake Haener
Commanders: WR Stefon Diggs, QB Marcus Mariota, S Tyler Owens, S Nick Cross, S Percy Butler, G Tanoa Togiai, DE Charles Omenihu
The 4-0 Vikings have turned the page back to the days of the Purple People Eaters. And the stout defense isn’t getting a ton of help from the offense.
The Vikings have had 18 straight drives without a touchdown. The last one happened in the second quarter of a Week 3 win over the Buccaneers. The Week 4 victory over the Dolphins happened with five field goals.
Yes, tight end T.J. Hockenson could have scored just before the two-minute warning, but he wisely took a knee and allowed the Vikings to ensure the Dolphins wouldn’t be able to score twice and steal the game. Either way, the Vikings did not register a touchdown against the Dolphins.
As noted last Sunday, the win made the Vikings the first team in more than 100 years to start 4-0 despite not scoring a touchdown in multiple games. The 1922 and 1923 Chicago Cardinals were the only other teams to accomplish that feat.
If the Vikings do it again at any point this year, they’ll become only the fourth team in NFL history to win three or more games without scoring a touchdown. The others were the 1922 Chicago Cardinals, the 1923 Chicago Bears, and the 1993 Indianapolis Colts, per NBC Sports research.
The all-time record, held by the 1922 Cardinals, is four.
Still, there’s reason to believe the Vikings could snap out of their early-season funk. After the Dolphins scored a touchdown late in the third quarter to cut Minnesota’s lead to 12-10, the Vikings offense seemed to wake up. A 15-play, 60-yard drive consumed more than eight minutes of clock time and extended the lead to 15-10. Then, after a three-and-out effort from the Dolphins, the Vikings burned the remaining 5:41 by moving the ball 79 yards from their own 19 to the Miami two.
The next test comes today, in New Orleans. The 1-3 Saints are desperate for a win after losing their first two home games of the season — capped by Monday night’s embarrassing loss to the Falcons. New Orleans hasn’t lost its first three games at home since 1995.
While there’s a chance he’ll be inactive, Vikings receiver Odell Beckham Jr. has a chance to make his debut for Minnesota on Sunday.
The Vikings, per multiple reports, will elevate Beckham from the practice squad in advance of the Week 5 game at New Orleans.
Coach Kevin O’Connell said Friday that Beckham likely would be elevated to the active roster for the game, but that he’d also likely be inactive if both Justin Jefferson (ankle) and Jordan Addison (hamstring) aren’t able to go.
Neither has been downgraded from questionable to out. Usually, a player who is listed as questionable but who isn’t playing won’t make the trip and, in turn, be ruled out the day before the game.
Beckham, a Louisiana native who played at LSU, surely welcomes the opportunity to suit up and play in New Orleans, in his first game with the Vikings.
Few players in NFL history have been a threat to make plays both running and receiving like Saints running back Alvin Kamara.
Kamara, who is listed as questionable for Sunday with a back injury, has 7,324 rushing yards and 4,995 receiving yards in his NFL career, which means he’s just five receiving yards short of reaching 5,000 yards in both categories.
If Kamara does it, he’ll be only the sixth player in NFL history with 5,000 yards both rushing and receiving. The previous five are:
Marshall Faulk: 12,279 rushing, 6,875 receiving.
Marcus Allen: 12,243 rushing; 5,411 receiving.
Tiki Barber: 10,449 rushing; 5,183 receiving.
Christian McCaffrey: 7,807 rushing; 5,512 receiving.
Lenny Moore: 5,174 rushing; 6,039 receiving.
The 31-year-old Kamara is not the player he once was. So far this season he has just 25 carries for 74 yards (2.96 yards per carry) and 11 receptions for 47 yards (4.27 yards per catch). Kamara may be nearing the end, but he’s poised to end up with an impressive statistical achievement.
The NFL has only three 4-0 teams after four weeks. Two of them — the Chiefs and Vikings — didn’t make it to the playoffs in 2025.
Via NBC Sports research, it’s the first time since 2013 that multiple teams that failed to make the playoffs in the prior season started with 4-0 records. That year, the Chiefs and Saints started 4-0. (In 2012, the Chiefs were 2-14, and the Saints went 7-9.)
The 2025 Chiefs went 6-11 after three straight Super Bowl appearances. The 2025 Vikings finished 9-8, with five straight wins.
Minnesota has the current longest active winning streak in the NFL, with nine in a row. They’ll go for 10 in a row, tying the second-longest winning streak in franchise history, on Sunday at New Orleans.
The 1975 Vikings started 10-0. The 1969 Vikings lost their first and last games of the regular season — and won all 12 in a row in between.
