The Minnesota Vikings spent most of the last seven months immersed in the Brett Favre will-he or won't-he play saga. The New Orleans Saints have spent the bulk of that same time being peppered with another unending question: Namely, can they repeat as Super Bowl champions?
Against that backdrop, the NFL kicks off its season Thursday night with a high-profile matchup that pits the Saints against Favre and the Vikings at the Louisiana Superdome.
Who dat, indeed!
It promises to be a raucous opener for the Saints, who will take the field for the first regular-season game in front of their home fans since chopping down Peyton Manning and the Indianapolis Colts, 31-17, to win their first Super Bowl.
En route to the title, New Orleans had to fight off a spirited challenge from Favre and the Vikings before squeaking out a 31-28 victory in overtime in the NFC Championship game.
The Saints were primarily responsible for Minnesota's offseason of discontent, battering Favre into retirement - again - and leaving the 40-year-old quarterback in need of surgery to repair the ankle he injured against New Orleans.
Favre finally relented to the wishes of his teammates last month and decided to return for a 20th and final season with the Vikings.
The mission, obviously, is to get to the Super Bowl - hardly a far-fetched notion considering the way Minnesota outplayed the Saints in that championship game.
The Vikings dominated the contest, rolling up 475 yards and 31 first downs to 257 and 15 for New Orleans, but they were derailed by five turnovers - including a pair of fumbles by All-Pro running back Adrian Peterson.
The final miscue was the most costly. With the score tied and the Vikings driving toward a potential go-ahead score in the waning seconds of regulation, Favre threw across his body and was picked off by Tracy Porter.
The three-time NFL MVP never touched the ball again, with the Saints winning on their first possession of overtime thanks to Garrett Hartley's 40-yard field goal.
The Vikings will have a chance at retribution on Thursday, although it is hard to imagine Favre matching his totals of a year ago, when he threw for 33 touchdowns and a career-low seven interceptions.
Favre also will be without his favorite receiver. Sidney Rice, who had 83 receptions for 1,312 yards and eight touchdowns last season, is expected to miss at least half the season after undergoing hip surgery.
That could shift the onus to Peterson, who rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns in the NFC title tilt. The fourth-year back ran for 1,383 yards and 18 touchdowns last season and Minnesota likely will feed him the ball to keep the Saints' high-octane offense off the field.
New Orleans scored a league-high 510 points last season as quarterback Drew Brees threw for 4,388 yards and 34 touchdown passes. The Super Bowl MVP also set an NFL record with a completion percentage of 70.6.
Lost in the maze of turnovers committed by the Vikings in the last matchup was the job Minnesota’s defense did against Brees and Co., holding the Saints to under 200 yards passing for only the third time all season.
New Orleans’ defense will also be under the gun to slow the Vikings, particularly playing without Pro Bowl safety Darren Sharper, who is on the physically unable to perform list and will miss the first six weeks of the season.