One of the highlights of the New Orleans Saints’ 2026 season thus far had centered around its passing game. The team still has the No. 2 receiving yards leader in the NFL in wide receiver Chris Olave, and has consistently seen quarterback Tyler Shough rank in the top three among passing yards leaders.
However, in Week 5, the Saints’ passing game was slowed down by the Minnesota Vikings’ defense. Contrary to popular belief, the pressure generated by the Vikings was only a part of the problem as to how they got it done.
The Saints faced heat from the Vikings on 46.2% of dropbacks, the second lowest (of five games) by Minnesota all season even though the team blitzed on 61.5% of its defensive snaps.
Shough did not have an exorbitant amount of time on dropbacks under pressure like other quarterbacks have had against the same defense. Instead, Minnesota did a great job mixing things up in the secondary.
The Vikings deployed their lowest percentage of Cover 2 looks and instead leaned in on Cover 3. That allowed them to keep big plays to a minimum, kept the Saints’ passing game out in front of them, and then did a great job flocking to the ball after the catch.
They also deployed Cover 0 (all out) blitzes only on key moments such as third down or long-distance situations.
The Saints had their fewest amount of yards after catch in their game against the Vikings with only 51.
New Orleans didn’t just see its passing game grounded by pressure, but by coverage and solid tackling as well. The team’s lack of play action and screen game, particularly the latter against the blitz, proved costly as well.
The Saints had opportunities to counter the aggressive defense, but didn’t show any typical schemes to accomplish that.
The method they ultimately tried, the Vikings quickly countered and shut down. How the team handles the surging pressure, and talented corners of the New York Giants, will be a key element of showing progress to get back on track.
