Rating: (1 votes - 5.00 average)

Before Thursday night’s 14-9 victory over the Minnesota Vikings, the fewest points the Saints had scored in a win under coach Sean Payton was 19. They did that in his first game, a 19-14 triumph over the Cleveland Browns to open the 2006 season.

You have to go back seven years to find a Saints victory with fewer than 14 points, and that was a meaningless 13-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys when the Saints finished 8-8 and the Cowboys already had locked up a wild card for the playoffs.

Minnesota had 12 first downs eight months after picking up 31 against the Saints in the NFC Championship Game. Running back Adrian Peterson gained 87 yards eight months after finishing with 122. Brett Favre threw for 171 yards eight months after passing for 310.

Defensive end Alex Brown, the only starter who was not on the team last year, talked about the outstanding effort.

How did you guys hold the Vikings to 9 points?

“To do it you have to do a lot of things right. We were able to do a lot of things right tonight. I’m sure we missed some things, but for the most part we did things right. Coach (defensive coordinator Gregg) Williams called a great game, and we were able to execute. But to hold a team like that with a damn good quarterback and probably the best running back in the league and a really good offensive line, we did some special things.”

Did you blitz more in the second half?

“I’m not sure we did. Whatever coach called, we just ran it. We just had to make the play. That’s all we were doing. We were coming from all different directions, every angle, every facet on the field. We were just coming after him.”

Is that as good as a defense can play, holding the Vikings to nine points?

“No. They should have gotten three. They should have had three. They hit a couple seem routes on that last drive before the half. That’s something we can definitely get better on. That’s what we’ll try to do. We’ll try to get better and get better and get better, that’s the whole focus. We said last week that whoever wins this game, it’s just 0-1 or 1-0, that’s it. We haven’t won anything. We have to understand this game’s behind us. It’s time to go back to work.”

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Halo

I think we blitzed more. I also think we blitz more effectively. The Saints defense comes in from all over the place.