Vikings Week 8 scouting report: At 39, Drew Brees still conjures up magic

7:20 p.m. Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium (Ch. 11, 100.3-FM)

About the Saints

• The Saints (5-1) escaped Baltimore with a fifth consecutive victory last weekend off a 17-point fourth quarter. Ravens kicker Justin Tucker missed an extra-point try in the final minute that would have tied the score in the Saints' 24-23 win.

• Running back Alvin Kamara, who had 105 yards (43 rushing, 62 receiving) and a touchdown against the Vikings in last year's playoff game, has continued to be a top NFL dual-threat running back. Kamara is quarterback Drew Brees' second-favorite target with 40 catches for 362 receiving yards in six games.

• Receiver Michael Thomas, whom the Vikings passed up in the 2016 NFL draft to take Laquon Treadwell, is Brees' go-to target. Thomas ranks in the league's top five with 53 catches for 98 yards per game.

• The Saints defense has been its weak link. It is allowing 27.2 points per game (27th in the NFL) while being particularly susceptible to the pass. Opponents have completed a league-best 43 percent of passes for first downs against the Saints.

• Brees, 39, became the NFL's career passing leader this month, surpassing Peyton Manning's mark of 71,940 yards. Brees will add to his 72,315 total Sunday night.

• On last year's "Minneapolis Miracle" and the Saints' 29-24 playoff loss in Minnesota: "We didn't start the game off the way we wanted to, obviously, being down 17-0 at halftime. We put things together in the second half, made plays when we had the opportunities. It was just a hard-fought game down to the wire; thought we had it won."

• On how long he'll continue playing: "I'm really enjoying what I'm doing. I'm enjoying being around the locker room and around the guys. I feel we have a great window of opportunity here in New Orleans right now, but I'm just taking it one season at a time right now."

Coach Speak: Sean Payton

• Payton, in his 12th season in New Orleans, is the third-longest tenured NFL head coach, tied with Green Bay's Mike McCarthy. Both were hired before the 2006 season. Payton has a 110-72 regular-season record and is 7-5 in the playoffs, with one Super Bowl ring following the 2009 season.

• Payton, 54, coached alongside Vikings coach Mike Zimmer in Dallas from 2003-2005. Zimmer's son, Adam, had his first NFL gig under Payton as a Saints assistant linebackers coach from 2006-2009.

• On Brees orchestrating yet another fourth-quarter comeback last week in Baltimore: "He's one of those players that it becomes a little contagious with the other players: the tight ends, receivers and everyone else involved. … He's one of those guys that given those [late-game deficits], he's going to know what he wants to do."