Sad performance by the Vikings in a city known for the blues

NEW ORLEANS — The first Super Bowl I covered was in New Orleans, on Jan. 28, 1990. I’ve been in love with the city ever since.

I’ve covered Super Bowls, college bowl games, NCAA basketball games and Vikings games here. I’ve vacationed here, and I spent a week here before the 2009 NFC title game, driving back and forth from New Orleans and Kiln, Miss., home of Brett Favre.

I’ve never seen New Orleans quite like this.

In the years following Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans was devastated, and walking the streets was an act of homage and mourning.

Although there is no physical damage evident in the buildings in the French Quarter this week, there are familiar boards on the windows of far too many businesses, especially restaurants and bars. On Christmas morning, most businesses were closed, and the restaurants that were open on Friday night were booked long ago.

It’s as if New Orleans was visited by an airborne Katrina.

The Saints were given credit for reviving the spirit if not economy of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. In the midst of a pandemic, it’s difficult to tell how much mood-altering they did in New Orleans on Friday, but they did beat the Vikings 52-33 in front of a few, scattered fans at the Superdome.

The Vikings’ loss eliminates them from playoff contention, gives them their first losing season since coach Mike Zimmer’s debut year in 2014, and creates the possibility that this team will post his worst record.

If the Vikings lose at Detroit next Sunday, they will finish 6-10. They already have demonstrated they have their worst defense under Zimmer, who said in August, “I’ve never had a bad defense, ever.”

This was a sad performance to end the competitive portion of a sad season. And it occurred in a city that knows how to turn the blues into a good time.

This is a city that turns funerals into parades, a place where ghost stories and the undead are as much a part of the culture as Mardi Gras beads.

The Vikings did what they could to cheer the city up. They allowed Alvin Kamara to rush for six touchdowns — tying an NFL record for one game — and the Saints to rush for seven as a team. No one had rushed for five touchdowns in a game since 2003, and no Saint had ever done it.

Only Saints coach Sean Payton’s coach crush on backup quarterback Taysom Hill kept Kamara from scoring a seventh. The Saints faced third-and-goal from the Vikings’ 1 with about four minutes remaining in the game. Payton installed Hill in the shotgun formation and he ran it in.

The Vikings have missed the playoffs twice in the last three seasons. In 2018, they lost three games in December. In 2020, they have lost three straight in December.

Their offense kept them somewhat close most of the day; their defense, with a makeshift front seven, created two turnovers and still allowed 52 points and almost 600 yards.

At least the Vikings gave New Orleans something to cheer about.

Their front seven was largely invisible.

Their clock management at the end of the first half was abysmal.

Their cornerback depth continued to plague them.

In 2020, the Vikings didn’t live up to their legacy on defense. Kamara embarrassed them on Friday.

Check back at startribune.com later tonight for Jim Souhan’s full column.