Five extra points: Penalties, pressure and a (fake) punt stand out in Vikings win

Sean Payton is gone, but the curse of late-game blown calls involving defensive backs apparently has lived on to torture the Saints one more time in Sunday's 28-25 loss to the Vikings in London. New Orleans led 22-19 with 5:36 left when Kirk Cousins threw incomplete to Adam Thielen on third-and-10 from the Vikings' 49-yard line. But an official gifted the ball back to the Vikings with a penalty on safety Tyrann Mathieu for hands to the face of Justin Jefferson. The only problem was his hands touched nothing but Jefferson's right shoulder. A great, legal jam. Three plays later, on third-and-8, the Saints committed two defensive penalties. The Vikings accepted the 41-yard pass interference on Marshon Lattimore down to the 3-yard line. Replays showed the officials missed Thielen grabbing and wrenching Lattimore's facemask as the two were jostling. "I thought it was a tough call," said Saints coach Dennis Allen, clearly biting his lip. "I wasn't a fan of some of the calls."

Finally! Another moment that screamed for a creative blitz came with 2:01 left and the Saints facing third-and-9 at the Vikings' 42. This time, normally passive play-calling defensive coordinator Ed Donatell overloaded the front-side rush with Harrison Smith and Danielle Hunter. Smith came free and caused Andy Dalton's incompletion. Perfect timing. There were, however, some puzzling situations involving Hunter's rotation with backup Patrick Jones II. Hunter was taken out on third-and-2 at the Vikings' 15 (a 5-yard run right at Jones in the first half) and on the goal line when Taysom Hill scored on a 2-yard run where Hunter would have lined up. Hunter had three solo tackles and also kept Dalton from escaping the pocket on the sack by Za'Darius Smith.

One of the better coaches on the field Sunday was a guy who's 237 days younger than Harrison Smith. Vikings special teams coordinator Matt Daniels could be a rising star in his first season as a coordinator. The 24-yard field goal that gave the Vikings a 16-7 lead was set up by Kris Boyd's excellent forced fumble and recovery on punt coverage. The 46-yard field goal that gave the Vikings a 19-14 lead was set up by Kene Nwangwu's 33-yard kickoff return and a fake punt in which one rookie (punter Ryan Wright, a former high school QB in California) threw a 13-yard completion to another rookie who had no career receptions (Jalen Nailor) on fourth-and-2 from the Saints' 47. Greg Joseph did miss a PAT to make things interesting at the end, but he also made all five field-goal attempts, including the game-winner from 47 yards with 24 seconds left.

The Saints had scored only one touchdown in the first three quarters of their first three games when Dalton, subbing for the injured Jameis Winston, got hot after opening with two three-and-outs. He completed 5 of 5 passes for 38 yards, two first downs and a touchdown while converting three third downs on the drive that tied the score 7-7. His next pass came on third-and-3. Vikings nickel back Chandon Sullivan immediately recognized the screen call, raced forward and dropped Jarvis Landry for a 1-yard gain, snuffed out any momentum Dalton had created and forced the Saints to go three-and-out a third time. With good field position, the Vikings kicked a field goal to lead 10-7 with 1:04 left in the first half. Sullivan had been unremarkable as the Vikings struggled in coverage in Weeks 2-3. His stop on Landry was his finest play as a Viking.

There are times right guard Ed Ingram still looks like a rookie — like the time Allen's stunt call sent blitzing linebacker Demario Davis zooming past a confused Ingram for an easy sack. But these eyeballs see a promising player who will end the yearslong revolving door at the position. He was stout in the middle, peeled back to block the front-side edge rusher on the 15-yard touchdown screen to Alexander Mattison on the Vikings' first drive, and probably got away with a nice hold that bought Cousins the time he needed to hit Jefferson for the game's longest play of 41 yards. Ingram wasn't penalized Sunday and has only one flag for 5 yards this season. The Vikings were penalized five times for 35 yards — all of it coming against the offense. Right tackle Brian O'Neill had two false starts, including one in the red zone, where the Vikings scored only two touchdowns while committing three penalties.