Football fans in Minnesota will never forget the Minneapolis Miracle.

In New Orleans, they probably have a different name for it.

Less than 10 months after their NFC Divisional Round showdown, the New Orleans Saints will return to U.S. Bank Stadium for a Week 8 clash with the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football.

This time around, the Saints and Vikings are battling for position atop their respective divisions.

New Orleans has won five straight to climb to the top of the NFC South at 5-1. Drew Brees isn’t the MVP favourite, but he is certainly in the conversation after throwing for 1,870 yards and 13 touchdowns without an interception through six games. The Saints own the NFC’s highest-scoring offence heading into Week 8. However, in order to contend they will need more from a defence that has allowed an average of 27.2 points per game this season. According to ESPN’s Football Power Index, the New Orleans defence ranks 32nd in the NFL.

The good news for the Saints is that they have allowed a league-low 72.3 rushing yards per game this season. The bad news is that they have the 28th-ranked pass defence, which has allowed a league-high eight pass plays of 42 yards or more. It’s ironic that limiting the number of big plays they give up through the air will be a priority for the New Orleans defence when they return to Minnesota this Sunday.

It won’t be easy against a Vikings offence that features a pair of star wide receivers in Adam Thielen and Stefon Diggs.

Thielen’s 67 receptions are the most through a team’s first seven games in NFL history. His seven straight games with at least 100 receiving yards to open the season matches the NFL record set by Charley Hennigan back in 1961. According to Pro Football Focus, Thielen has caught 67 of 70 catchable targets. Those are pretty impressive numbers for an undrafted wide receiver.

Meanwhile, the Saints are well aware of what Diggs is capable of. After torching New Orleans on one of the most memorable plays in franchise history last January in his last-second catch and run for a touchdown to give the Vikings a 29-24 victory, Diggs has picked up from where he left off last season with 48 receptions for 468 yards and three touchdowns. He hasn’t dropped a pass. Minnesota (4-2-1) is the only NFL team with two wide receivers that rank in the top-10 in receptions. That tandem will try to take advantage of the Saints secondary on Sunday Night Football.

On the other side of the football, the Vikings defence will be dealing with several key injuries as they attempt to slow down Brees and company. Linebacker Anthony Barr, cornerback Xavier Rhodes and safety Andrew Sendejo all missed practice on Thursday. Nose tackle Linval Joseph was a limited participant. A year ago, Minnesota led the NFC with an average of 192.4 passing yards allowed per game. This season, the Vikings rank 16th in the NFL with an average of 256.1 passing yards allowed per game. Injuries have taken their toll early on and it won’t get any easier against one of the league’s most dynamic offences this week.

New Orleans has averaged 34.0 points per game, which is their second-highest average through the first six games of a season in franchise history. Brees leads the NFL with a 77.3 completion percentage and hasn’t thrown an interception through six games. The return of running back Mark Ingram to pair with Alvin Kamara in the backfield makes the Saints offence that much more difficult to game plan against. With some holes on defence and a difficult schedule that includes Minnesota, the Los Angeles Rams, the Cincinnati Bengals and the Philadelphia Eagles during the next four weeks, New Orleans will continue to rely heavily on its high-scoring attack.