Minnesota Vikings vs New Orleans Saints: Live Score and Analysis for New Orleans

The New Orleans Saints will make their 2014 home debut Sunday when they play host to the Minnesota Vikings in a crucial early season matchup.

For the Saints (0-2), the contest is as close to a must-win as can be this early in the season. New Orleans opened the season with two straight road losses (at Atlanta and at Cleveland), and Sean Payton’s club will undoubtedly be looking forward to playing in front of the notoriously loud home fans at the Mercedes-Benz Superdome.

Offensively, the Saints have racked up yards in both outings, and they rank third in the NFL in total offense heading into Sunday’s game. The unit was far from sharp in Cleveland last week, however, after putting 34 points on the board against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1.

Throughout the Payton-Drew Brees era, a return to the Superdome has proved to be effective medicine for the New Orleans offense after a shaky performance. Brees, Jimmy Graham and Co. will try and return to high-flying form today against Minnesota (1-1), but they’ll have to do it without starting running back Mark Ingram, who’s expected to miss the next month with a hand injury.

The other side of the ball is where things get dicey for the Saints. Rob Ryan’s defense has given up just under 900 yards of offense in two games, and the cornerback play has been particularly subpar.

If the group is to have a solid outing today, it will need contributions from pass-rushers Cam Jordan and Junior Galette, who have both been quiet thus far after outstanding seasons a year ago.

With New Orleans desperately seeking to avoid an 0-3 start, a quality performance on both sides of the ball would do wonders for this team’s confidence moving forward.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. ET/Noon CDT on Fox.