Cardiac Vikes Cage the Cardinals
Vikings Territory Breakdown
The Minnesota Vikings, the league’s newest Cardiac Kids, beat the Arizona Cardinals 23-22 in the last minute at U.S. Bank Stadium. In a game in which the Vikings did not lead until those last minutes, the defense made the plays to secure the win versus a decent Cardinals squad. Now at 10-2 and remaining tied for the third-best record in the league—the Vikings are moving closer to a coveted postseason spot.
The offense struggled to get going and the offensive line had trouble protecting their quarterback Sam Darnold. But Darnold persevered by leading his charges on two late touchdown drives (passes to Johnny Mundt and Aaron Jones) and grabbing that late lead. The defense did the rest, despite having trouble containing the elusive Kyler Murry.
The wins comes against a good team, but the struggles the Vikings demonstrated may be more concerning than the final score would have us soon recall. Injuries to Stephon Gilmore and Patrick Jones will be watched this week, struggles to get Justin Jefferson going early, a couple more fumbles by rounding back Aaron Jones, plus a mordant offense for yet another game is something the coaches will need to figure out.
And the fellas at Vikings Territory Breakdown podcast—Joe Oberle, senior writer at vikingsterritory.com and purplePTSD.com and Mark Craig, NFL and Vikings writer for the Star Tribune and startribune.com—will be on the air to discuss it all. Tune in and check it out.
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