Boxing Challenge: Munguia stops O'Sullivan, Smith slips by Hart

The first matches for the 2020 Boxing Challenge lifted off Saturday night with the main events from ESPN and DAZN starting things off.

DAZN and Golden Boy kicked their 2020 off from San Antonio, Texas with a surprisingly interesting battle as former WBO junior middleweight champion Jaime Munguia defeated Gary "Spike" O'Sullivan via an eleventh round stoppage when O'Sullivan's corner conceded the fight with their man being pounded along the ropes.
Munguia threw more punches and was ahead on my scorecards after ten rounds  (97-92) before ending the fight in the eleventh as he pasted O'Sullivan to earn the stoppage.
Munguia threw several low blows throughout the bout and was deducted a point in the sixth round for a low shot, which I thought contributed to wearing down the smaller "Spike" in the final few rounds of the fight.
Munguia continues to be a rough draft as a fighter and where his work with trainer Erik Morales impressed me came into play was in the middle rounds as Munguia began to use the jab more effectively.
The jab not only helped the Munguia offense, but it improved the defense as well as it ended the counter rights that O'Sullivan landed far more than he should have in the first half of the fight.
Munguia is the top contender for WBO middleweight champion Demetrius Andrade's title, due to the WBO's rule that moves a champion of theirs that vacates their title to move up or down in weight will automatically move to the top of the contender list.
Munguia still seems too unpolished to defeat Andrade and might be better suited to delay that fight for a bit and put another one or two fights at middleweights into the record books before making that challenge.
As for Spike, he took a lot of punches in the loss and he's undersized as a middleweight, to begin with.
O'Sullivan might be on the verge of considering retirement as he has been hit a lot, but if he decides to fight on, his management might be smart to consider trying him in the junior middleweight division where physically he is a better fit.

The ESPN/Top Rank slate led off their 2020 with a crossroads light heavyweight fight between Jesse Hart and Joe Smith with the victor possibly involved for the WBO title vacated recently by Canelo Alvarez or an eliminator against the winner of a 175 pound next week from ESPN with former WBO champion Eleider Alvarez and Michael Seals.
I saw it as a toss of the coin matchup with Hart throwing more punches and being the smoother boxer and Smith being the harder puncher and having the better chin with the possible variable that Smith just hasn't thrown enough punches in recent losses to Sullivan Barrera and WBA champion Dmitry Bivol.
Smith turned back the clock to his peak years when he knocked out Andrej Fonfara and Bernard Hopkins and simply overpowered Hart with punishing blows and in a surprise moved his hands enough to outland Hart.
Hart was dropped by Smith very late in the seventh round and was hurt badly again in the ninth round, but managed to grab and hold enough to make it to the final bell.
I had Smith a decisive 98-91 winner, which was in line with two judges scores, but the verdict for Smith was split as judge James Kinney threw out a Hamburglar of a scorecard that awarded his scorecard 95-94 for Hart, which not only was outrageous to fans, it was outrageous to Hart promoter Bob Arum.
That's how bad this scorecard was- the promoter of the losing fighter was railing against his fighter's winning scorecard!
The impressive return for Smith will likely see him face the aforementioned Alvarez-Seals battle next Saturday while Hart should remain on the fringes of the title picture and would be a viable opponent against top ten boxers in the division.

The Boxing Challenge starts again for 2020 as Ramon Malpica attempts to take the trophy away from me for another time.
Ramon won the first challenge, but I've been fortunate enough to emerge victoriously in the following five seasons.
Ramon and I each earned one point for the knockout win by Jaime Munguia.

Boxing Challenge

It's the start of a new year in the boxing challenge as Ramon Malpica and I battle all year for prognosticating supremacy in the Sweet Science.

Both ESPN and DAZN have cards on Saturday night, but we'll be starting with only the main events from both cards start the season.

ESPN will feature an excellent battle in the light heavyweight division in a crossroads fight that might place the victor into a possible title fight by the end of 2020 from Atlantic City.
Jesse Hart faces Joe Smith in what is essentially an eliminator without being an official one between two lower end of the top ten contenders.
Hart, who suffered his only two losses at super middleweight in title attempts against then-champion Gilberto Ramirez, moved up to 175 and defeated another contender of similar ilk as Smith, with a unanimous decision over Sullivan Barrera.
Smith was closer to the upper part of the division in 2016 when he knocked out Andrzej Fonfara and Bernard Hopkins, but has only fought three times since including a decision loss to the aforementioned Barrera that saw Smith finishing the fight with a broken jaw and a decision loss in a WBA title challenge to Dmitry Bivol in which he lost almost every round, but hurt the champion in the eleventh round.
Hart is the better boxer and throws many more punches, Smith is the bigger puncher and has the better chin.
I lean Hart here, but Smith has the proverbial punchers chance to pull this out.

On DAZN, Jaime Munguia will begin his middleweight career against Gary "Spike" O'Sullivan in a twelve rounder.
Munguia vacated his WBO title at 154 pounds after recent trouble making weight and it was beginning to affect his performance as he won a very controversial decision last year against Dennis Hogan that many believed (Myself included) that Hogan deserved.
Munguia faces what appears to be a perfect foil in O'Sullivan, who moves straight forward, doesn't punch hard, has lost all three fights against world-class opposition (Billy Joe Saunders, Chris Eubank Jr) and was explosively taken out in one round by Lemieux in his last step up in competition.
Munguia should look good against O'Sullivan and if he doesn't?
Look for those questions about Munguia to continue.


Light Heavyweights. 10 Rds
Jesse Hart vs Joe Smith
Both: Hart Unanimous Decision

Middleweights 12 Rds
Jaime Munguia vs Gary "Spike" O'Sullivan
R.L: Munguia KO 6
TRS: Munguia KO 3

PPM

The PPM rolls on with the four-game divisional playoff round in the NFL and Monday's college National Championship game.
Both are bittersweet for me after Ohio State and the New Orleans Saints both suffered losses to end their season, but the PPM doesn't stop for wins or losses.

Last Week: 4-2
Overall: 169-77

College
National Championship
LSU 32 Clemson 27

NFL
Ravens 23 Titans 19
Chiefs 34 Texans 24
49ers 37 Vikings 21
Packers 24 Seahawks 20

Fantasy Minor Recap- Hitters

Now that the 2020 calendar has begun, I can start thinking about baseball and my minor league fantasy draft that I try to write about here and there.
I finally won the Jim Bouton Baseball League after many years of trying and I was more than happy on the night that I finally won that elusive title.

However, in our league where you keep all of your players, you have to continue to move forward and plan for the future.
In our league, you can only have 17 players in your minor system and you have to have fewer than that to draft more, so it's a constant concept of culling prospects.
Today, I'll be looking back at the hitters from 2019 and discuss if they have a future with the "Akron Rubber Ducks".

Vladimir Guerrero Jr. 3b Toronto Blue Jays
.272 15 HR 69 RBI Toronto
Guerrero fell just 36 at-bats short of forcing a decision for me as in our league, once a player has 500 MLB at-bats, the team has to either bring him up or release him.
Guerrero spent very little time with AAA Buffalo (9 games) with his "arbitration" send-down time being eaten by a spring training injury.
I have three excellent third basemen (Anthony Rendon, Nolan Arenado, and Rafael Devers), but I'll find a place for Guerrero's bat.

The remaining eight players didn't spend any major league time in 2019, so they are still projections as far their future will be.
Some will stay, some will leave and with one or two others, I am still undecided on keeping them or not.
I'll start with the catchers and work my way around the diamond.

Joey Bart C San Francisco Giants
234 AB .265 12 HR 37 RBI High A San Jose
79 AB .316 4 HR 11 RBI AA Richmond
Bart was just starting to hit his stride when he suffered a broken hand with San Jose but upon his return hit very well at AA Richmond.
I paid a high price to move from eleventh to first in the first round in Shane Bieber to draft Bart last season and although I liked Bieber I was surprised with his elite performance last season.
For that deal to be worthwhile in the long run (assuming Bieber keeps that level of performance), Bart will have to be an elite offensive catcher and not just above average.
I think he's capable of that.
Bart should start at AAA Sacramento and finish the season with the Giants.

William Contreras C Atlanta Braves
190 AB .263 3 HR 22 RBI High A Florida
191 AB .246 3 HR 17 RBI AA Mississippi
The younger brother of Willson Contreras, William split the season between High A and AA  and his numbers were average.
Contreras played most of the season at 21, which made his a little young for AA and the Braves were pleased enough to move him to AA  at mid-season.
I'll be keeping Contreras around for this season, but this is a key year for him.
Contreras will likely return to AA Mississippi to start in 2020.

Miguel Vargas 3B Los Angeles Dodgers
280 AB .325 5 HR 45 RBI Low A Great Lakes
211 AB .284 2 HR 32 RBI High A Rancho Cucamonga
Vargas played the entire season as a 19-year-old and I think he is a star in the making.
The Cuban might eventually become a first baseman and his power numbers were a little low, but with his frame (6'3 205 lbs), I think as he grows into his body, the power will come along.
The hype around the Dodgers farm system is around Gavin Lux right now and rightfully so, but by this time next year when Lux is an established major leaguer, the top minor leaguer could be Miguel Vargas.
Vargas could start with AA Tulsa if the Dodgers really want to challenge him, but my guess is that he starts with High A Rancho Cucamonga and if all goes as expected, Vargas could be in Tulsa by mid-May.

Elehuris Montero 3B St.Louis
224 AB .188 7 HR 18 RBI AA Springfield
Montero shows what can happen when a player is moved too soon as after he dominated the low A Midwest League in 2018 and less than 100 at-bats in high A in the same season, Montero was surprisingly assigned to AA Springfield for 2019.
Montero missed much of the season, struck out 74 times and hit under .190 in never getting untracked.
Still, his seven homers give me hope and Montero only turned 21 with two weeks to go in the season.
I'm still trying to decide on Montero, but I'm leaning towards blaming the team and not the player and seeing if Montero will bounce back.
Montero should return to AA Springfield for a second chance to conquer the Texas League.

O'Neil Cruz SS Pittsburgh
136 AB .301 7 HR 16 RBI High A Bradenton
119 AB .269 1 HR 17 RBI AA Altoona
The tallest shortstop (6'7) that you are likely to see, Cruz, like Montero, battled injuries early in the season and didn't turn 21 until after the season.
Unlike Montero, Cruz started at High A and after his return from injury and an excellent July, only then did Cruz move to AA.
I'm not sure if Cruz plays shortstop at the major league level, but I think his bat is going to play-if the Pirates can be patient and allow him to develop.
Cruz should return to AA Altoona to start in 2020.

Heliot Ramos OF San Francisco
294 AB .306 13 HR 40 RBI High A San Jose
95   AB .242  3 HR 15 RBI AA Richmond
Ramos, like so many in my system, fought injuries early in the year but hit very well with High A San Jose.
Ramos didn't turn 20 until after the season and considering that Ramos held his own after a final month with AA Richmond.
There is plenty to prove, but being young for both levels, I'm very encouraged about the future of Ramos.
Ramos should start 2020 with AA Richmond and finish with AAA Sacramento.

Luis Robert OF Chicago White Sox
75 AB .453 8 HR 24 RBI 8 SB High A Winston-Salem
226 AB. 314 8 HR 29 RBI 21 SB AA Birmingham
202 AB .297 16 HR  39 RBI 7 SB AAA Charlotte
Robert had battled injuries in a disappointing 2018 after I selected him with my first pick in that draft and I was hoping to see a bounceback year.
Robert more than bounced back with a season to be remembered, especially those 75 at-bats to start the season with High A Winston-Salem, which was about as destructive as an outfielder could be as an offensive force.
Robert was almost as dominant at AA and AAA and has nothing left to prove.
The White Sox signed Robert to a six year contract last week and since that contract eliminates the arbitration issue with service time, Robert will likely make the ChiSox team coming out of spring training.

Jhailyn Ortiz OF Philadelphia
430 AB .200 19 HR 65 RBI High A Clearwater
Ortiz didn't turn 21 until the season was over, but I was surprised to see the Phillies start Ortiz at High A Clearwater after a mediocre 2018 (.225 13 homers) at Low A Lakewood.
While you have to like the 19 homers in the Florida State League, a noted pitchers league, there is little else to like from Ortiz's season.
An average that ended exactly on the Mendoza Line and 149 strikeouts (over a strikeout in every three at-bats) at High-A doesn't give me confidence in his future.
The talent is there for Ortiz, but I don't currently believe that he is going to make enough contact to eventually be a big-league level player.
Ortiz is young enough that I wouldn't rule him out as a prospect yet, but two years with a combined 297 strikeouts isn't enough to keep him in my system.

Of my positions players entering the draft year, my current feelings are these.
Promoted to the Ducks- Vladimir Guerrero Jr

Will be promoted to the Ducks sometime this season barring an injury- Luis Robert

Retaining rights and hoping for big things-
Joey Bart
Heliot Ramos
O'Neil Cruz
Miguel Vargas

Protecting, but 2020 make or break
William Contreras

Questioning to protect or not and 2020 make or break
Elehuris Montero

Going to be Released
Jhailyn Ortiz

I plan on doing a similar post on my eight pitchers sometime next week.

Browns are alone again-Naturally

In what has to be noted as an unsurprising development, the Cleveland Browns opening is the only one standing after a season that saw fewer than normal openings.

The Browns caught a break late in the season when three teams that were thought to have potential vacancies as Detroit (Matt Patricia), Jacksonville (Doug Marrone), and Atlanta (Dan Quinn) all decided to give their coaches another season.
Atlanta made a strong late-season rally to finish 7-9 and Quinn took them to a Super Bowl, and Detroit had injuries at quarterback to the point of Browns rookie training camp arm David Blough being forced to start the final five games, so I can see the argument for keeping them, but I'm still trying to figure out why the Jaguars retained Marrone.
Due to those developments, there were only four other teams hiring coaches with the Panthers (Ron Rivera) and Redskins (Jay Gruden) having a head start when they fired their coaches in mid-season and the Giants (Pat Shurmur, who could have seen THAT coming?) and Cowboys (Jason Garrett) making their decisions after the season.

The Redskins moved quickly in taking Ron Rivera off the market in a deal that seemed to be made even before the season ended and roughly all at the same time, the other teams grabbed their guys (Dallas- Former Packers coach Mike McCarthy), New York Giants (New England wide receivers and special teams coach Joe Joyce), and Carolina (Baylor head coach Matt Ruhle), so the Browns don't have to be in a rush to make this hire.
The Browns had brought in McCarthy as their first candidate, asked to interview Ruhle, who wasn't interested in interviewing and didn't speak with Joyce.

From my perspective, I ranked the interviewed candidates into groups-
Previous head coaches (Mike McCarthy, who accepted the Dallas job, Josh McDaniels, New England offensive coordinator and late entrant Jim Schwartz, Philadelphia defensive coordinator)
Current coordinators without head coaching experience (Offensive coordinators Greg Roman of Baltimore, Eric Bieniemy of Kansas City, Kevin Stefanski of Minnesota and San Francisco defensive coordinator Robert Saleh) and the
"What in the Hell are they thinking" group of only Buffalo offensive coordinator Brian Daboll.

While I do have my favorites of the interviewed candidates, there is only one that I would go crazy if they hired (Brian Daboll) and while none are sure things, I don't see any that has a massive red flag to hold against them. just minor concerns as all new hires will possess
McDaniels was unsuccessful in his two years in Denver, Schwartz wasn't a star as head coach in Detroit, Roman has had his best success with mobile quarterbacks, Bieniemy doesn't call plays at Kansas City, Stefanski's Minnesota offenses didn't really perk up until this year when Gary Kubiak arrived as an advisor and Saleh has tons of top talent at his disposal in San Francisco, but wasn't noted as a top guy before that talent infusion.

However, some of them have some positives that make me think that they could be good hires.
McDaniels seems to have learned from his Denver difficulties as his mentor Bill Belichick did from Cleveland and might be ready to grab his second chance.
Schwartz is a dynamic guy that might be best-suited as far as temperament for a team looking for a leader.
Stefanski seems to have hit it off with Paul DePodesta, which would mean good things for a franchise looking for their management to work together.
Roman seems to be the most innovative offensively as he has been able to get mileage from Colin Kapernick and Lamar Jackson that many didn't see happening.
Bieniemy may not call plays for the Andy Reid-led Chiefs, but past Reid assistants in that job have done well in Doug Pederson and Matt Nagy.
Saleh is reported to be a strong disciplinarian on a team that needs it badly after the summer camp atmosphere around Freddie Kitchens.
So, most of these coaches I wouldn't be upset if the Browns selected them, but some I prefer more than others.

It seems that the Browns have unofficially whittled the field down to Josh McDaniels and Kevin Stefanski with Jim Schwartz as the outside dark horse.
There are so many various schools of thought on Josh McDaniels with some sources stating that he'll never work with Paul DePodesta and his numbers bunch with yet others saying that McDaniels wouldn't have a problem with DePodesta as long he was able to have his person in as the general manager.
Kevin Stefanski almost got the job last time and DePodesta was hammering the table for him only to have John Dorsey's choice of Freddie Kitchens sway the day with the Haslams.
If it's Stefanski, DePodesta will have flexed his muscle and established himself as the power player of the Browns.
Jim Schwartz could be the compromise choice as he'd be acceptable to DePodesta with his embracing of analytics and has NFL head coaching experience, which Jimmy Haslam originally said was almost a must.
The rest of the coordinators look like long shots at best, but if I was taking one of them I'd lean toward Greg Roman, who has worked well with quarterback projects and might do well with Baker Mayfield, but Eric Bieniemy intrigues me as well.

If I was making a list of my preferences and not a list of most likely to get the job, I would list them in order as
Josh McDaniels- Experienced and has matured since his last try.
Greg Roman-Like his work with quarterbacks that aren't always top of the line.
Eric Bieniemy- Looks like a coach ready for an opportunity after great success with Patrick Mahomes.
Jim Schwartz-Strong leader that like McDaniels might be better on his second try.
Kevin Stefanski-Something tells me Minnesota's success is more Gary Kubiak than Stefanski for now and Stefanski needs more seasoning as a play-caller.
Robert Saleh- Defensive coordinator at a time when the Browns need an offensive guy with a quarterback that needs someone to ride herd.
Charlie Brown- Has experience with losing football
Colonel Sanders-Is used to dealing with players with greasy fingers and have trouble holding onto things,
Brian Daboll-I'd rather hire the above two than Brian Daboll.

I don't have a ton of confidence in the Haslams getting this right, especially considering the committee consisting of Jimmy, Dee, their son in law, Paul DePodesta and salary cap executive Chris Cooper, but they could still hire the right guy with some of their interviewees.
I just have a feeling that this was two people all the time- Jimmy Haslam pushing for Josh McDaniels and Paul DePodesta pulling for Kevin Stefanski.
That's how I saw it from the start and I think many of these interviews have been window dressing to
protect against offering the job to McDaniels, having McDaniels decide he didn't want it and then go to the fan base with Stefanski, who may very well prove to be an excellent head coach but checks few of the boxes that Jimmy Haslam described in his press conference and would appear to be yet another Browns hire that no one else interviews, although Stefanski was scheduled to interview with Carolina this time after only talking to the Browns in 2019 for their opening.

This way, if McDaniels turns the job down and the Browns then go with Stefanski as the choice, the Haslams can say that they interviewed many candidates, Stefanski stood out, blah, blah.
I'll be very surprised if it's not one of those two and with both of them interviewing today and tomorrow, the Browns have apparently saved the best showdown for last.

Devils drop loss to Islanders in overtime

Photo Credit; Getty Images 

The New Jersey Devils might look better in Red and Green, but their play in those jerseys continued for the worse as the Devils allowed the New York Islanders to tie the game with under six minutes to play and then Anders Lee beat Mackenzie Blackwood in overtime to give the Islanders a 4-3 win at the Rock.

Devils goals to Kyle Palmieri (16 power play), Nico Hischier (10) and P.K. Subban (5) with Mackenzie Blackwood finishing with 37 saves in the defeat.
The Devils will visit their rivals in New York on Thursday and then travel to Washington, where the world's worst hockey announcing pair awaits me.

Hell Raisers

1)  The best part of this game was the terrific goal by Nico Hischier, who cut across ice, stopped, restarted and spun before flipping the puck backward over Islanders goalie Thomas Griess for the goal.
Hischier is starting to mature into a more creative offensive player and I'm willing to wager that he'll eventually be a 30-35 goal scorer.

2)  If there were any questions about the toughness of Mackenzie Blackwood, Blackwood answered them late in the second period.
An Islander slap shot slammed against the mask of Blackwood and dropped him to the surface and an obviously buzzed Blackwood barely survived the period.
Blackwood lost a few teeth from the shot, which had to hurt like hell but finished the game.

3) I still cannot get over a missed chance in overtime when the Devils flew into the Islander zone with a three on one against Thomas Greiss with Sami Vatanen controlling the puck and two Devils cutting to the net.
Vatanen didn't give up the puck, which might have won the game, and eventually ran out of space as he was forced to settle for trying to slide the puck by Griess at the corner.
I'm just not sure why Vatanen didn't make the pass!!!

4) The action didn't end there as the Islanders turned up ice for a chance to break out with numbers against Mackenzie Blackwood, but their shot goes high and wide.
The Devils try to turn the tide with a line change, but the Islanders catch the Devils napping and Anders Lee is alone as part of a 3 on 2.
Lee snaps a wrister off that beats Blackwood to end the game.
I know I write this all the time, but I LOVE the 3 on 3 overtime!
The action cannot be beaten and if the league would just move the 3 on 3 to ten minutes, the shootout would rarely come into play.

5) P.K. Subban has been somewhat of a disappointment thus far for the Devils but on the offensive end, Subban could be turning a corner.
For the second time in three games, Subban ripped a one-timer into the net from outside the circle, this one from a pass from Miles Wood.
This season may be a lost one for the Devils, it doesn't have to be for P.K. Subban.

6) When you watch hockey games that are fun to see, they aren't always well-played- this was one of those nights.
The game had its share of less than smooth play, but only one penalty was called by the referees and it wound up leading to a goal as Kyle Palmieri took a Nico Hischier pass to the net on a third-period power play.

7) In these types of fun, but not completely flawless contests, some of the reasons that the game is enjoyable is because the referees let the players play.
In all sports, the officials can either let the players play and allow them to decide the game or call it tight and apply the rules firmly.
Players can handle it either way, but be consistent so they have an idea of how the game is going called.
When the officials are consistent, the players can take care of things themselves.

Saints pushed out of playoffs-lose to Minnesota in OT

It wouldn't be a New Orleans Saints playoff loss without some craziness or controversy and the Saints 26-20 overtime loss to the Minnesota Vikings at the Louisiana Superdome Sunday afternoon wouldn't be an exception.

Saints kicker Wil Lutz connected on a 49-yard field goal with five seconds to play to force overtime at 20-20, but the Vikings would win the coin toss and never allow New Orleans to touch the football in overtime.
After Kirk Cousins found Adam Thielen with a 43-yard pass to move the Vikings to the two-yard line, Minnesota seemed to be ready to quickly end the game with a touchdown, but a first down run by Dalvin Cook moved the ball only to the one and a second down running attempt by Cook saw the Viking back dragged down by Shy Tuttle for a three-yard loss back to the Saints four.
With the season on the line and needing to hold Minnesota to a field goal for the game to continue under overtime rules, Kirk Cousins hit his tight end, Kyle Rudolph, with a lob to the corner of the end zone for the game-winning score over the Saints P.J. Williams.
Video replays showed that Rudolph pushed off on Williams with the ball in the air and it could have been called offensive pass interference on the Vikings, but the officials only gave it a cursory look as they do all scoring plays and got their officials off the field.
Asked after the game. the league's vice-president of officiating Al Riveron claimed the contact "didn't rise to the level of the foul".
However, Rudolph clearly extended his arm to shove Williams back and bought himself crucial steps to haul the ball in over a scrambling Williams and that arm extension should have been key in calling a penalty as the extended arm and push by Rudolph could be considered an obstruction for Williams' ability to make a play and maintain coverage.
I'll concede that the call wasn't nearly as egregious as the non-call on a Los Angeles Rams defender in last season's overtime playoff elimination, but in a sudden-death situation that decides a season, a closer look and a bit more time considering the penalty should have been the procedure.

Drew Brees threw for 208 yards with a touchdown to Taysom Hill and led the Saints in the fourth quarter with two scoring drives that erased a ten-point Minnesota lead, but threw an interception and his fumble after being hit by Minnesota's Danielle Hunter in the third quarter scuttled a likely scoring drive.
Will Lutz was two of three on field goals including the game-tying kick at the end of the fourth quarter, but his miss at the end of the first half from 43 yards away proved to be large in the big picture.
Alvin Kamara scored the other New Orleans touchdown on a four-yard rush, but Kamara's struggles at the season continued as he would finish with only 21 yards rushing and though Kamara caught eight passes, they totaled a mere 34 yards on the day.
Michael Thomas caught seven passes, but Minnesota corners held the league's leading pass-catcher to only seventy yards with the longest play only moving the ball twenty yards.

The player of the day was backup quarterback and gimmick play specialist Taysom Hill, who threw a 50-yard completion to Deonte Harris, caught two passes for twenty-five including a score and ran the ball four times for fifty yards, including a twenty-eight yard run on the final drive.
I'm very doubtful of Hill ever succeeding as a full-time quarterback but in his role in the Sean Payton offense, Hill is incredibly effective, although I do think teams will begin to take away some of the schemes that involve Hill heavily.

The Vikings sacked Drew Brees three times and forced a key fumble, but it was more than just the big plays as the Vikings for three quarters never allowed the Saints to gain any rhythm from their offense and kept the timing of Brees out of sync except for the occasional plays from Taysom Hill.
Give the Saints defense credit as they managed to slam the door on several Viking scoring drives, although they did allow the long gainer in overtime, but Pro Bowl cornerback Marshon Lattimore was on the sidelines for that play after he and another Saint collided with each other's helmet on the play before.

The inability to keep the Vikings pass rush off Brees and the lack of anyone other than Cameron Jordan to bother Kirk Cousins were key factors, but they weren't everything in a defeat.
A key first down by (That man again!) Taysom Hill on a short snap fake punt was called back due to a false start and Sean Payton may have made an error in time management when with 21 seconds to go, an illegal shift on the Saints that cost them ten seconds could have been saved had Payton used their final timeout.
I know hindsight is 20-20 and a decision to save the ten seconds and use the timeout was risky, but Brees wound up throwing the ball into the ground on the next play, the Saints didn't use the timeout anyway as they were forced into trying the game-tying field goal that Wil Lutz wobbled through the uprights.

Add it all up and the recipe for a Vikings upset was there for the taking.
Many times teams peak too soon, and perhaps the Saints peaked a few weeks too soon this season, but when you consider the age of Drew Brees and the trades made over the last few seasons that have seen draft picks sent away, the proverbial window of the New Orleans Saints may be closing soon.
Drew Brees will turn 41 soon, Alvin Kamara hasn't seemed to be the same dynamic force of the past this season and the offensive line is having problems protecting.
The Saints window hasn't slammed shut yet, but it won't be much longer before they are closed for winter...