Vikings Advance to NFC Championship
Jan. 6 -- The Minnesota-New Orleans NFC divisional playoff game was billed as a battle between an offensive powerhouse and shrewd defense, but it was the Vikings that controlled both sides of the ball in their 34-16 win.
The Vikings showed why they are the NFC’s second-highest scoring team today as Randy Moss caught two touchdown passes and Daunte Culpepper threw for 302 yards and three scores.
The much-maligned Vikings defense, ranked 28th in the league, also outplayed the New Orleans defensive squad today. Minnesota intercepted Aaron Brooks twice despite finishing last in the NFL with just 8 picks all season. Brooks finished 30-for-48 and 286 yards.
The win before a home crowd of 63,881 at the Metrodome earns the Vikings a berth in the NFC Championship game next weekend against the winner of the Philadelphia Eagles-New York Giants game on Sunday.
Saints Can’t Stop Moss, Carter
Minnesota never trailed today, scoring on the third play of their opening drive on a 53-yard strike to Moss. Moss later ran 68 yards on a pass from Culpepper on the Vikings’ first drive of the second half, blazing by a handful of defenders downfield.
Cris Carter also scored, on a 17-yard touchdown pass that was set up by Culpepper’s 30-yard run. Carter finished the day with eight receptions for 120 yards, one yard shy of Moss’ gain on two catches.
Robert Smith — the NFC’s leading rusher who was held to 16 yards in the first half — added a 2-yard touchdown run to give the Vikings a 34-10 lead in the fourth quarter.
Willie Jackson scored on a 48-yard touchdown pass for New Orleans to bring the score to 34-16. The Saints failed in their two-point conversion attempt.
The Saints first put points on the board with a 33-yard field goal midway through the first quarter, which brought the score to 7-3. Minnesota’s Gary Anderson added a 44-yard field goal for the Vikings.
Minnesota D Outshines Saints’
Despite leading the league with 66 sacks in the regular season, New Orleans never got a hand on Culpepper, who played with a high ankle sprain yet rushed for 51 yards on four carries and shredded the Saints’ defense with his mobility and pinpoint passing.