Ben Goessling, ESPN Staff Writer 10y

Prediction: Saints will beat Vikings

MINNEAPOLIS -- According to ESPN Stats and Information, New Orleans Saints quarterback Drew Brees has had three or more wide receivers on the field for 49 of his 85 dropbacks this season. And he's already hit tight end Jimmy Graham on 18 of the 23 passes he's targeted for him. Those statistics make me wonder if the Minnesota Vikings have enough secondary depth to hang with the Saints in their home opener this weekend.

Tom Brady didn't spread the Vikings out like we thought he might last weekend, when the Patriots opted to run the ball 37 times and used a six-lineman formation for large chunks of New England's 30-7 win. That probably won't be the case this weekend. The Saints won't have Mark Ingram in their stable of running backs, but they'll have enough receivers to cover the field and stretch the Vikings' defense.

I'm not sure if the Vikings will be able to handle that kind of a game. Cornerback Xavier Rhodes is coming off one of the worst games in his short career, Captain Munnerlyn has had some rough moments in coverage (he's given up six catches in six targets, according to Pro Football Focus), and Graham has proved to be too tough of a matchup for most teams to handle. With Brees, who's one of the game's best at moving around in the pocket, at the trigger of the Saints' offense, New Orleans is going to test the Vikings' defense at the Superdome.

The Saints are 0-2, and they've shown enough defensive issues that a win isn't as difficult to imagine as it might have seemed. But as the Vikings' offense adapts to life without Adrian Peterson, they could be asked to put up plenty of points this weekend. I don't think they'll have quite enough to keep up.

Prediction: Saints 31, Vikings 20

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