Divisional Round: New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings (Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome), with a Conference Championship spot at stake. Kickoff: Sat January 6, 2001 at 12:30pm. Winner advances to the Conference Championship. The losing team's season is over.[1][2]
The divisional round is where the bracket is supposed to take its real shape. New Orleans Saints traveling to Minnesota Vikings at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome, with the league watching to see whether the better team or the better matchup wins. Bye-week home favorites carry the weight of expectation; the visiting wild-card winner walks in with no one expecting them and nothing to lose.
The bracket has narrowed to the teams that survived the regular season. New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings are two of them; the rest of the league is in scouting mode for the offseason. What happens in Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome shifts the rest of the tree: a road favorite winning rearranges seeding expectations; a home upset shows the bracket math underweights heart.
New Orleans Saints versus Minnesota Vikings in the Divisional Round. The teams who reach this round have already proven they survive a long schedule; the stats that matter most now are the ones that compress: scoring differential, red-zone efficiency, turnover margin. At this stage of the year, the simple math is that defenses tighten and the team that protects the ball wins more often than the team that scores the most. Whichever side of New Orleans Saints-Minnesota Vikings cleans up the careless plays first usually walks out with the result. Conservative-game expectations should not surprise the reader; both staffs know exactly what worked all season and will lean hard on what travels. The early answer is the kicking game, where any swing of field position compounds.
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Tennessee Titans | 13-3 | W4 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 12-4 | W7 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 9-7 | W2 |
| Jacksonville Jaguars | 7-9 | L2 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 4-12 | L1 |
| Cleveland Browns | 3-13 | L5 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Miami Dolphins | 11-5 | W1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 10-6 | W3 |
| New York Jets | 9-7 | L3 |
| Buffalo Bills | 8-8 | W1 |
| New England Patriots | 5-11 | L1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Oakland Raiders | 12-4 | W1 |
| Denver Broncos | 11-5 | W1 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | 7-9 | L1 |
| Seattle Seahawks | 6-10 | L1 |
| San Diego Chargers | 1-15 | L4 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | 10-6 | L1 |
| St. Louis Rams | 10-6 | W1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 7-9 | L1 |
| San Francisco 49ers | 6-10 | L1 |
| Atlanta Falcons | 4-12 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| Minnesota Vikings | 11-5 | L3 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 10-6 | L1 |
| Detroit Lions | 9-7 | L1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 9-7 | W4 |
| Chicago Bears | 5-11 | W1 |
| Team | Rec | Strk |
|---|---|---|
| New York Giants | 12-4 | W5 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | 11-5 | W2 |
| Washington Redskins | 8-8 | W1 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 5-11 | L2 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 3-13 | -- |
New Orleans Saints None, Minnesota Vikings None
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans Saints | 3 | 0 | 7 | 6 | 33101616 |
| Minnesota Vikings | 10 | 7 | 10 | 7 | 1017273434 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Vikings | Randy Moss 53 yard pass from Daunte Culpepper ( Gary Anderson kick) | 0-7 |
| Saints | Doug Brien 33 yard field goal | 3-7 |
| Vikings | Gary Anderson 24 yard field goal | 3-10 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Vikings | Cris Carter 17 yard pass from Daunte Culpepper ( Gary Anderson kick) | 3-17 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Vikings | Randy Moss 68 yard pass from Daunte Culpepper ( Gary Anderson kick) | 3-24 |
| Saints | Dave Stachelski 2 yard pass from Aaron Brooks ( Doug Brien kick) | 10-24 |
| Vikings | Gary Anderson 44 yard field goal | 10-27 |
| Team | Play | Score |
|---|---|---|
| Vikings | Robert Smith 2 yard rush ( Gary Anderson kick) | 10-34 |
| Saints | Willie Jackson 48 yard pass from Aaron Brooks (pass failed) | 16-34 |
Minnesota Vikings defeated New Orleans Saints 34-16 at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome in the Divisional Round. The final scoring play was Saints: Willie Jackson 48 yard pass from Aaron Brooks (pass failed). Top line of the day: Daunte Culpepper: 302 pass yards on 17-of-31, 3 TD, 0 INT. Minnesota Vikings move on to the conference final.[1][2]
Minnesota Vikings walked out of Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome as the team that survived a Divisional Round New Orleans Saints will replay in its head for the entire offseason. The scoreboard says 34-16. The final scoring play came from Saints: Willie Jackson 48 yard pass from Aaron Brooks (pass failed). Whether it was the game-decider or just the period at the end of the sentence depends on what the camera caught earlier. Minnesota Vikings move on to a conference championship.
Minnesota Vikings 34, New Orleans Saints 16. Round: Divisional Round. Attendance: 63881. Q1: 3 scoring plays. Q2: 1 scoring play. Q3: 3 scoring plays. Q4: 2 scoring plays. Top performers:
- Daunte Culpepper: 302 pass yards on 17-of-31, 3 TD, 0 INT
- Robert Smith: 74 rush yards on 25 carries
- Willie Jackson: 9 catches for 125 yards
Divisional Round, played at Hubert H. Humphrey Metrodome. Final: New Orleans Saints 16, Minnesota Vikings 34, with Minnesota Vikings taking the result by 18. **First quarter**
- Vikings: Randy Moss 53 yard pass from Daunte Culpepper ( Gary Anderson kick)
- Saints: Doug Brien 33 yard field goal
- Vikings: Gary Anderson 24 yard field goal
Second quarter
- Vikings: Cris Carter 17 yard pass from Daunte Culpepper ( Gary Anderson kick)
Third quarter
- Vikings: Randy Moss 68 yard pass from Daunte Culpepper ( Gary Anderson kick)
- Saints: Dave Stachelski 2 yard pass from Aaron Brooks ( Doug Brien kick)
- Vikings: Gary Anderson 44 yard field goal
Fourth quarter
- Vikings: Robert Smith 2 yard rush ( Gary Anderson kick)
- Saints: Willie Jackson 48 yard pass from Aaron Brooks (pass failed)
Top performers
- Daunte Culpepper: 302 pass yards on 17-of-31, 3 TD, 0 INT
- Robert Smith: 74 rush yards on 25 carries
- Willie Jackson: 9 catches for 125 yards
| Saints | Vikings | |
|---|---|---|
| Team totals | ||
| First Downs | 19 | 18 |
| Total Yards | 355 | 429 |
| Turnovers | 2 | 0 |
| Passing | ||
| Comp/Att | 30/48 | 17/31 |
| Pass yards | 295 | 302 |
| Pass TD | 2 | 3 |
| Interceptions | 2 | 0 |
| Sacks taken | 2 | 0 |
| Sack yards lost | 9 | 0 |
| Net pass yards | 286 | 302 |
| Rushing | ||
| Rushes | 17 | 32 |
| Rush yards | 69 | 127 |
| Rush TD | 0 | 1 |
| Discipline | ||
| Fumbles | 0 | 1 |
| Fumbles lost | 0 | 0 |
| Penalties | 7 | 5 |
| Penalty yards | 40 | 60 |
| Player | C/A | Yds | TD | Int | Rate |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR | |||||
| Aaron Brooks | 30/48 | 295 | 2 | 2 | |
| MIN | |||||
| Daunte Culpepper | 17/31 | 302 | 3 | 0 | |
| Player | Att | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR | ||||
| Aaron Brooks | 5 | 29 | 0 | 13 |
| Chad Morton | 5 | 25 | 0 | 9 |
| Ricky Williams | 6 | 14 | 0 | 7 |
| Terry Allen | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| MIN | ||||
| Robert Smith | 25 | 74 | 1 | 25 |
| Daunte Culpepper | 4 | 51 | 0 | 30 |
| Harold Morrow | 3 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Player | Rec | Yds | TD | Long |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR | ||||
| Willie Jackson | 9 | 125 | 1 | 48 |
| Chad Morton | 13 | 106 | 0 | 18 |
| Jake Reed | 2 | 29 | 0 | 16 |
| Robert Wilson | 1 | 14 | 0 | 14 |
| Keith Poole | 2 | 12 | 0 | 7 |
| Andrew Glover | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Ricky Williams | 1 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Dave Stachelski | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
| MIN | ||||
| Randy Moss | 2 | 121 | 2 | 68 |
| Cris Carter | 8 | 120 | 1 | 34 |
| Robert Smith | 2 | 25 | 0 | 20 |
| Jim Kleinsasser | 2 | 18 | 0 | 11 |
| Troy Walters | 1 | 7 | 0 | 7 |
| Andrew Jordan | 1 | 6 | 0 | 6 |
| Johnny McWilliams | 1 | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Find or start the canonical thread for this game on r/49ers. The thread title is deterministic so anyone running this Rewatch lands on the same place.
Find the thread Start the threadCanonical title: [Rewatch Party] 2000 Divisional Round - New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings - Game Thread
