The Vikings-Saints playoff rivalry will always be defined by the 2009 NFC Championship Game that sent New Orleans to the Super Bowl, broke Vikings’ fans hearts and later became infamous for the Saints’ bounty on Brett Favre.
But many folks forget the game nine years earlier that went Minnesota’s way.
The Vikings were hosting the Saints — just as they will be next Sunday — after getting a bye in the Wild Card round. New Orleans had beaten the defending champion Rams in their first playoff game, but they were far outmatched by the Vikings offense with Daunte Culpepper firing bullets to Randy Moss and Cris Carter at the Metrodome.
There are all sorts of fun name drops in this game on the Saints side.
- New Orleans used Jake Reed and Andrew Glover in their passing attack, both of whom left Minnesota the previous offseason.
- Their kicker was Doug Brien, who would become the Vikings kicker two years later and famously miss two extra points in his second game.
- New Orleans’ running backs were former Viking Terry Allen and Heisman winner Ricky Williams.
- The Saints’ offensive coordinator? Mike McCarthy.
The game lives on YouTube in its entirety, split into four parts. You can watch it below.
PART 1 (Randy Moss TD, 8:45 mark)
PART 2 (Cris Carter TD, 26:00 mark)
PART 3 (Randy Moss TD, 1:15 mark; Robert Smith TD, 38:20 mark)