9:05 PM - The Vikings officially start the season 1-0 with a 29-19 win.

8:59 PM - The Saints score their first touchdown of the game on a pass from Drew Brees to Coby Fleener. The score is now 29 to 19 with 1:56 remaining.

8:51 PM - The Vikings tack onto their lead with a 45-yard field goal by Forbath. Minnesota is now up 29-12 with 4 minutes left in the fourth quarter. McKinnon had a 25-yard reception on the drive.

8:39 PM - The Vikings defense continues its superb night inside the red zone by forcing another Saints field goal. New Orleans has kicked four field goals on all four of their red zone possessions. The Vikings lead 26-12 with 7:49 left in the fourth quarter.

8:30 PM - Sam Bradford throws his third touchdown pass of the night as he finds Rudolph for a 15-yard score on third-and-9. Bradford has 308 passing yards and a passer raying of 145.4. Minnesota leads 26-9 early in the fourth quarter.

8:29 PM - The Vikings lead 19-9 over New Orleans entering the fourth quarter. Thielen has eight catches for 151 yards and Diggs has seven catches for 93 yards and two touchdowns. Bradford is 23 of 28 for 293 yards. Bree has 149 passing yards.

8:16 PM - The Saints get another field goal as the Vikings defense holds inside the 10-yard line. New Orleans had a 52-yard pass play on the drive but came away with just three points.

8:14 PM - Minnesota is forced to punt after its drive stalls past midfield. Diggs lost 6 yards on a run before Bradford was sacked. Ryan Quigley's punt is fair caught at the 11-yard line. The Vikings lead 19-6 with 5:29 left in the third quarter.

8:04 PM - Vikings CB Xavier Rhodes is probable to return with heat illness.

8:02 PM - The Vikings defense make quick work of New Orleans as they force a three-and-out. Peterson was held to a short gain before Everson Griffen sacked Brees. Danielle Hunter then pressured Brees to force an incompletion. The Vikings take over on their own 32-yard line.

7:56 PM - The Vikings get points on their opening drive of the second half as Forbath hits a 32-yard field goal to give Minnesota a 19-6 lead. McKinnon started the sequence with a 39-yard kickoff return before Diggs had a 30-yard reception.

7:33 PM -Stefon Diggs is on fire.

The Vikings extended their lead on a 2-yard touchdown catch by Diggs that capped off a 95-yard scoring drive. Bradford connected with Thielen for a 44-yard gain on the drive that helped set up the score. Diggs also had a 20-yard reception. The Vikings lead 16-6 at the half after the missed extra point. The Vikings have 229 yards of offense while the Saints have 118.

7:21 PM - The Vikings force a punt as Anthony Barr smothers a third-down pass for a loss of 6 yards. Minnesota will take over at their own 5-yard line after the downed punt with 1 minute, 43 seconds left in the second quarter.

7:06 PM - The Vikings have found the endzone for the first time this season.

The Vikings strike quick and cover 74 yards in a hurry. Bradford capped the three-play drive with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Diggs. Bradford also hit Adam Thielen for 35 yards and Jarius Wright fir 21 yards to begin the drive. Minnesota leads 10-6 late in the second quarter.

7:03 PM - New Orleans retakes the lead on a 21-yard field goal. The Saints were stuffed on a third-down run from the 5-yard line. The Vikings sacked Brees on third down early in the drive but Tom Johnson was called for roughing the passer. New Orleans then converted twice more on third down on the series.

6:49 PM - A third-down holding penalty stalls a Vikings drive and Minnesota is forced to punt. Jayron Kearse makes a quick tackle on a 1-yard return. The Saints will start at their own 24-yard line.

6:46 PM - The Vikings force a three-and-out and a New Orleans punt. Marcus Sherels returns the punt for 13 yards as the Vikings take over at their own 25-yard line.

6:41 PM - The Vikings and Saints are tied at 3 entering the second quarter, Each team sustained a lengthy first-quarter drive that ended with a field goal. New Orleans has 62 yards of offense while Minnesota had 48 yards of offense. Each team gained five first downs.

6:36 PM - The Vikings have tied up the score 3-3.

The Vikings get on the board and tie the game with a 24-yard field goal by Kai Forbath. Minnesota drove down to the 7-yard line but couldn't convert on third down. The Vikings went 78 yards in 15 plays in a drive that spanned seven-plus minutes.

The Vikings picked up a pair of first downs through the air to Stefon Diggs while the chains moved twice due to personal fouls on New Orleans. Jerick McKinnon also picked up a first down on the ground on third down.

6:21 PM -The Vikings are down 3-0 to the Saints.

New Orleans drives into the red zone but is held to a 43-yard field goal. Eric Kendricks had a pass break up for the Vikings defense on the drive. Saints running back Adrian Peterson had two carries for 10 yards.

4:45 PM - The following Vikings are confirmed as inactive for Monday night's game against the New Orleans Saints at U.S. Bank Stadium.

WR Rodney Adams

CB Tramaine Brock

S Antone Exum Jr.

G Danny Isidora

T Aviante Collins

DE Tashawn Bower

DT Jaleel Johnson

New Orleans Saints Inactives

LB Stephone Anthony

LT Terron Armstead

WR Austin Carr

CB Ken Crawley

DE Trey Hendrickson

QB Taysom Hill

LB Nate Stupar

After months of hype, the regular season finally gets underway for the Vikings tonight as they welcome back Adrian Peterson and the New Orleans Saints to U.S. Bank Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6:10 PM on ESPN.

The Vikings have preached all week that this isn't about beating Peterson but rather beating the Saints. That might start with limiting Peterson and fellow running backs Mark Imgram and rookie Alvin Kamara, who impressed all preseason. That trio could make life tough on the Vikings defense, as all three possess unique skillsets.

Another common theme during the lead-in to the game from the Vikings side has been high praise of Saints QB Drew Brees, who tends to get the ball out very quickly, and given Minnesota's high-end pass rushing ability, that will likely be the plan of attack tonight. New Orleans is set to start rookie Ryan Ramczyk, who was the last pick in the first round of April's draft, at left tackle, which could prove to be a tall task for the former Wisconsin Badger. 

Brees will be without one of his top targets in WR Willie Snead, who is suspended for the first three games of the season. Combined with the offseason trade of Brandin Cooks to the Patriots, that takes 150 catches, ,2068 yards and 12 touchdowns off the board from last year. Free agent Ted Ginn Jr. will be among those looking to replace that production starting tonight. Michael Thomas had a monster rookie season, leading the team in both catches (92) and touchdowns (9) last season. Will he draw Xavier Rhodes' attention on every snap tonight? 

If Peterson's return is the 'A topic' tonight, then 1A might be the Vikings offense, and specifically the offensive line. After last season's rash of injuries, the revamped group enters tonight's game with several new starters looking to gel quickly to get the offense off to a fast start.

As a whole the first team offense struggled during the preseason but most of the bright spots came from rookie RB Dalvin Cook, who figures to get the lion's share of carries with Latavius Murray and Jerick McKinnon factoring in as well. Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur didn't want to show his hand this week when asked about how the trio would be used, but he's often used the word 'efficiency' when talking about the ground game this offseason, so we'll see how that plays out starting tonight.

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