Wild Card, 1987: Minnesota 44 New Orleans 10

Game information
In the Saints' first playoff game (and first winning season) in history, the Vikings dominated the game by recording two sacks, forcing six turnovers, and allowing only 149 yards. It was a stunning victory for the underdog Vikings, who had barely made the playoffs with an 8–7 record after losing three of their last four games, including their season ending match at home against the Washington Redskins in which they blew a 10-point fourth quarter lead, costing them a chance to clinch a playoff slot. The Vikings would spend the rest of the day pondering their prospects until a Dallas win over St. Louis enabled them to snag the NFC's lowest postseason seed. The Vikings had also been plagued with quarterback problems all year, starting three different quarterbacks during the season. Wade Wilson had the most starts with 7, but coach Jerry Burns decided to start Tommy Kramer, who had been through so many injuries he had only started in 5 regular season games and had not finished any of them. Meanwhile, the Saints had the NFL's second best record at 12-3 and came into this game on a 9-game winning streak.

New Orleans scored first after Vikings quarterback Kramer's fumble on a bad snap led to Saints quarterback Bobby Hebert's 10-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Eric Martin. Then, Kramer was sacked and the Vikings had to punt, but Saints returner Mel Gray accidentally hit the ball while trying to avoid it and the Vikings recovered on the New Orleans 27, leading to Chuck Nelson's 42-yard field goal. Kramer had to leave the game on the next drive with a pinched nerve in his neck, but the team would go on to win easily without him. Later in the quarter, they went up 10-7 when Anthony Carter returned a Saints punt for an 84-yard touchdown, setting a playoff record for the longest punt return TD.

In the second quarter, Vikings running back Darrin Nelson caught a screen pass from Wilson on 3rd and 10, and took off for a 37-yard gain to the Saints 1-yard line, setting up Wilson's 5-yard touchdown pass to tight end Steve Jordan. Then on Minnesota's next drive, running back Allen Rice threw a 10-yard touchdown to Carter on a halfback option play. Saints kicker Morten Andersen cut the score to 24–10 with a 40-yard field goal, but John Harris' interception of a Hebert pass on the Saints 35 led to Wilson's 44-yard touchdown completion on a "Hail Mary" pass to Hassan Jones on the last play of the first half. Time had expired on the previous play, but the Saints were penalized for having 12 men on the field, giving the Vikings one more play with no time left on the clock.

The Vikings went on dominating the second half, scoring two more Nelson field goals and an 8-yard touchdown run by D. J. Dozier.

Carter, who had only returned three punts during the season, finished the game with six punt returns for a playoff record 143 yards, and also caught six passes for 79 yards and another score. Wilson finished the game completing 11 of 20 passes for 189 yards and two touchdowns.

This was the first postseason meeting between the Vikings and Saints.

Wikipedia