Vikings Try to Stay Perfect with Pre-Bye Win in New Orleans Amid Injury Issues

As an NFL team exec, I always was concerned about the mindset of our teams in the game before the bye week. The team has been going hard since late July and players naturally are looking forward to a break during the bye week. As the Vikings head to New Orleans to take on a 1-3 Saints team coming off an embarrassing 45-24 home loss to division-rival Atlanta, are the Vikings totally focused on getting the victory to stay perfect at 5-0 or are they planning bye-week vacations to a beach or back to their hometown? The good news is the Vikings are 3-1 in the game before the bye in the Kevin O’Connell coaching era including a win over the Browns in London last season. Aside from bye concerns, the Vikings are dealing with a lot of injury issues heading into Sunday (but so are the Saints). Starting left guard Donovan Jackson is out for at least the regular season with a knee meniscus injury that required surgery. Star left tackle Christian Darrisaw is in concussion protocol. If he’s out