Saints notable numbers: Penalties prove costly vs Vikings

The New Orleans Saints struggled mightily in the first half against the Minnesota Vikings, but they were able to stage a comeback effort to make things interesting.

That effort led by Jameis Winston wasn't enough though, as the Vikings were able to hold off the Saints and prevailed with a 27-19 win despite being three-point underdogs on the pre-game betting line at Caesars Sportsbook.

Below are the numbers that stood out from the Saints latest loss, which didn't end up as ugly as it could've after Derek Carr went down, but they didn't deliver enough to avoid dropping to 5-5.

9

That's the number of penalties the Saints had against the Vikings, which added up to 74 yards and isn't the first time this season that they've struggled in that regard. The only other game where the Saints had more than nine penalties was in Week 5 against the Patriots, which didn't affect much since they had such a big lead, but today's mistakes proved costly much like in their Week 3 loss to the Packers and their Week 6 loss to the Texans in which they had seven penalties each. The Saints are once again among the most penalized teams in the NFL, and the bottom line is that a lack of discipline can be the difference in close games.

128

That's the number of receiving yards that Vikings tight end T.J. Hockenson had in the first half, as the Saints defense had no answers early on for the Vikings top receiver on the day. Hockenson put up a season-high yardage total despite playing through a rib injury that caused him to get up slowly after several catches, but he was able to push through and bully a Saints defense that had a forgettable first half performance for the fourth-straight week. Hockenson's 128 first half yards were the most against a Dennis Allen-coached team since Riley Cooper had 122 receiving yards back in 2013 against Allen's Raiders.

38

That's the number of receiving yards that Saints rookie wide receiver A.T. Perry had on the day, which was one of the few positive takeaways from a frustrating Saints performance. Perry caught his first career pass in the first quarter and was more involved in the offense after Michael Thomas left the game early with a knee injury, and his second catch was a contested 23-yard touchdown grab after Jameis Winston was able to somehow get him the ball on a throw across his body. It was nice to see Perry involved, and the rookie finished with two catches for 38 yards and a touchdown in his first action as a pass catcher.