MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota — The New Orleans Saints and Minnesota Vikings couldn’t have been much closer in their epic NFC title game showdown on Jan. 24, 2010, an overtime thriller that Drew Brees and the Saints barely survived on their way to the franchise’s first Super Bowl title.

Less than two years later, the two franchises could hardly be further apart.

The Saints (10-3) roll into the Metrodome on Sunday as one of the model teams in the NFC, an organization with a rock solid foundation at the three most important positions — front office, coach and quarterback.

By no coincidence, the Saints are in first place in the NFC South, two games ahead of the Atlanta Falcons and tied with the San Francisco 49ers for the second-best record in the NFC. Even with the Green Bay Packers looking like the class of the league, the Saints still have a realistic shot at a return trip to the big game.

“We’re a veteran team that’s been through a lot,” Brees said. “We’ve kind of learned the formula for winning and sustaining success.”

The Vikings (2-11), meanwhile, have fallen off the cliff ever since Garrett Hartley’s 40-yard field goal split the uprights to end Minnesota’s hopes of their first trip to the Super Bowl since 1978. Brett Favre returned for one more ill-fated run the next year, a long, miserable 6-10 season in which coach Brad Childress was fired, Favre was embroiled in a texting scandal, Randy Moss came and went in about four weeks and the Dome’s roof collapsed.

“You really can’t explain it,” Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield said. “It’s crazy. The Saints, they’re still a really good football team. Drew Brees still down there, working hard, making plays. I really don’t know what’s going on. We really can’t put our finger on it.”

Start with the lack of continuity. Since that loss, the Vikings have used five quarterbacks — Favre, Tarvaris Jackson, Joe Webb, Donovan McNabb and now rookie Christian Ponder — and have had a lot of turnover on the coaching staff.

“In my mind, it seems like eons ago, seems like forever when we played them in the NFC championship game,” Vikings coach Leslie Frazier said. “So much has transpired between that time and where we are today.”

While not as catastrophic off the field, Frazier’s first season has been even tougher on the field. McNabb didn’t pan out as the quarterback who was supposed to keep the team from a rebuilding season, the secondary was decimated by injuries, Adrian Peterson has missed the last three weeks with a high ankle sprain and Ponder has experienced the growing pains everyone expected when he took over as the starter seven games ago.

The Vikings have lost five games in a row, with the only solace to be taken that a team that waved goodbye to meaningful games more than a month ago continues to show up every week and give its opponent all they can handle, including last weekend in Detroit, when the Vikings fell behind 21-0 in the first quarter but still had a chance to win the game on the final play.

“There are a lot of reasons not to really concentrate and focus and battle,” Frazier said. “And they found reasons to battle, to focus, to believe that they could get back in that game and win that game.”

Still, moral victories aren’t giving much comfort to a veteran team that remembers what it feels like to be so close.

“Me and Kevin (Williams) were laughing about it today, saying, ‘We’ve got to do something. We’ve got to turn it around. That can’t be the only memory of being close to the Super Bowl that I tell my grandkids about at some point,’” defensive end Jared Allen said.

The Saints are looking to add another chapter to a book that already includes one fairy tale finish.

Brees is playing as well as he ever has, threatening the single-season passing record and seemingly getting stronger as the season has progressed. He has topped 320 yards passing in four straight games, with 11 touchdowns and no interceptions during that span.

New Orleans has won five in a row and six of seven to keep the Falcons (8-5) at arm’s length and keep pace with the 49ers for the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. Jimmy Graham has emerged as one of the dominant tight ends in the game and linebacker Jonathan Vilma has been back in the middle of the Saints defense for the last two games after missing four weeks with knee surgery earlier in the season.

“For us it’s been a journey,” Brees said. “We’ve been able to win a lot of games and put ourselves in pretty good position within our division and playoff wise. It hasn’t been easy by any means. We’ve had to fight through some adversity. We’ve had to fight through some injuries at key positions and certain things.”

Saints coach Sean Payton, who has been in place with Brees for the last six seasons, said continuity has been the biggest key to New Orleans’ sustained success.

“When you look at ownership, GM, head coach, players on our team, the staff, there’s been a very stable program where I think everyone understands how hard it is, how difficult it is, the challenges we face in winning games and getting to the postseason,” Payton said.

That’s all the news for today.

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The Oakland Raiders have battled it out with the NFC division Minnesota Vikings just 13 times over a half century in the NFL. Oakland hasn’t faced the Vikings in their home territory since 2007, and as they get ready to head to chilly Minneapolis for the game on Sunday, November 20, here is a look at the highlights from their past games.

Raiders fan, Dr. Death
Kathy Samoun (w/permission from Dr Death)

In the only post season game the Raiders and Vikings have played, the two teams faced each other in Super Bowl XI on January 9, 1977. Neither team had won a Super Bowl to date, and Minnesota has still never captured the ultimate victory or won the NFC Championship title, much to the chagrin of Vikings fans everywhere.

Going into the game, the Raiders were 13-1, while the Vikings were 11-2-1. The Minnesota team was highly favored, with the many veterans who had been to the Super Bowl with former teams in the past, the Raiders had just four.

But the Raiders had the likes of the great Kenny Stabler, wide receiver Fred Biletnikoff, tight end Dave Casper, guard Gene Upshaw, and many more who would later go on to be enshrined in football’s Hall of Fame. Of course, their head coach was John Madden, my favorite of all time.

Of course, we know that the Raiders went on to win their first Super Bowl that day, and John Madden remarked, “Super Bowl XI was ours and 10 years from now or 20 years from now Super Bowl XI will still be ours. I’ll never take off the Super Bowl ring. It’s something I will always cherish.”

Looking back a decade from now, do you think we’ll be looking back with some of the same thoughts on our current young players? I wouldn’t be surprised to see many of these guys end up becoming another on the long list of names that are considered the Raiders’ greatest.

Oakland is 9-4 in the series with the Minnesota Vikings, including the Super Bowl victory. The Raiders lost the last time they met at the Mall of America Field in 2007, but eight years ago today, on November 16, 2003, they were victorious in the game in which the two teams met in Oakland.

During that game it was the Vikings who made numerous mistakes with Daunte Culpepper(notes) at the helm. The Minnesota quarterback threw three interceptions to Oakland’s third-string quarterback’s one. Rick Mirer was able to lead the Silver and Black to a victory of 28-18, with the help of Jerry Porter(notes), Tyrone Wheatley and other stand out players.

We’ll have to wait and see how our new quarterback, Carson Palmer(notes), does against the Vikings’ rookie quarterback, Christian Ponder(notes), but my bet is that we’ll be starting a new and lengthy winning streak against Minnesota on Sunday. Knock on wood, I know that none of us can take a win for granted! Go Raiders.

K.C. Dermody grew up in the Bay Area of California, and has been an Oakland Raiders fan from the time she could walk. She has continued her loyalty to the team through its many ups and downs over the decades, and has been privileged to meet several of her favorite players, including famed quarterback, Jim Plunkett .

More from this contributor:

Oakland Raiders Fan: Michael Bush Up for NFL Fed Ex Ground Player of the Week

Oakland Raiders on Top After KC Loss: Fan’s Look at the AFC West

Oakland Raiders Fan: Fans Against Violence Taking Back the Stands for All Sports

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Eden Prairie, Minn. – Less than two years ago, the Minnesota Vikings were one play away from the Super Bowl, with a talent-rich roster that made them the unquestioned class of the NFC North.

Fast forward to 2011, and they are limping through a second straight miserable season, with the gap between them and the rest of the division widening by the day.

The Vikings lost 45-7 at Lambeau Field on Monday night to drop to

2-7. They have lost nine straight games to division opponents, including a combined score of

84-17 in trips to Chicago and Green Bay this season.

They lack depth and have question marks at every position besides running back and defensive end and appear destined to finish in last place in the North for the second straight season. That hasn’t happened since the NFL went to the division format in 1967.

For a proud franchise with a history of being competitive, the plummeting is a difficult reality.

“Just disgusted,” defensive end Jared Allen said Monday night. “I mean 45-7, are you kidding me? I haven’t lost this bad since I don’t know when. I don’t know. We’ve got some issues we’ve got to get cleaned up. We’ve got to play better.”

To make matters worse, the Vikings lost cornerback Antoine Winfield to a season-ending clavicle injury. Winfield will have surgery this week, further decimating a secondary that was already short-handed.

Cornerback Chris Cook is not with the team while he works through legal issues stemming from domestic battery charges and safety Husain Abdullah’s status for Sunday’s game is in doubt because of a concussion.

Frazier said the Vikings plan to bring in some players for workouts to fill the void, including veteran cornerback Benny Sapp.

Through nine games this season, the Vikings appear to lack playmakers in the secondary and at receiver and badly need upgrades at defensive tackle and every position on the offensive line. Rookie quarterback Christian Ponder has shown signs of promise, but his rough showing against the Packers – 16 for 34 for 190 yards and one interception – indicates it’s too early to say if he is the long-term answer or not.

“Any loss is tough, but when you go out and lose like this, it is tough,” Ponder said with emphasis. “We can’t forget that we were neck-and-neck with them two games ago.”

Minnesota’s fall coincides with the rise of the other three teams in the NFC North, making it one of the most daunting divisions in the league. Green Bay (9-0) is the defending Super Bowl champion with a quarterback playing so well it doesn’t figure to be dropping off anytime soon.

Chicago (6-3) made it to the NFC title game last year and thrashed the Vikings 39-10 at Soldier Field on Oct. 16. Detroit (6-3) has scuffled of late but finally seems to be shedding the label of division doormat.

“There’s concern anytime you lose in the fashion we lost last night and even in the Chicago game,” Frazier said Tuesday. “You’ve got to figure out some things and try to get some things turned around and close the gap on those two divisional opponents.

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