What the Vikings Can Expect from the Cardinals
For the first time since the beginning of November, the Minnesota Vikings return home, where they will take on the Arizona Cardinals in Week 13. The Cardinals head to US Bank Stadium in the thick of a playoff battle in an NFC West division that sees just one win separate all four teams. In the first game in a run of three at home, we look at what the Vikings can expect from the Cardinals.
What the Vikings Can Expect from the Cardinals
The Cardinals’ strength is their offense, and while their defense is far from great, it has improved from last season. They have physical cornerbacks, which is something the Vikings have struggled with — though Minnesota will hope the return of TJ Hockenson will help with that. The Cardinals’ defense has been particularly poor on third downs, an area the Vikings’ offense has often been good in. Expect that to be a key part of the game on Sunday.
Explosive QB Kyler Murray leads the offensive charge, where a solid offensive line backs him up. Now in his sixth season, Murray is looking as good as he ever had with an 80.9 overall grade from Pro Football Focus, while throwing for 2344 yards and 12 touchdowns with 4 interceptions. Of course, you also have to account for Murray’s speed and athleticism, where he has added 380 rushing yards plus 4 touchdowns and 17 first downs. The key to defending the Cardinals’ offense is limiting Murray’s ability to make the explosive play.
To help Murray, the Cardinals have a good player at each skill position: WR Marvin Harrison Jr, RB James Conner, and TE Trey McBride. Harrison was selected as this year’s fourth overall pick and is seen as a can’t-miss prospect. While he hasn’t wowed in his rookie season, he has been solid, amassing 546 yards and 6 touchdowns. McBride leads the team in reception yards with 685, though he hasn’t managed a score yet this season. Arizona also has a solid running back in James Conners. He might not be the most explosive back, but he usually churns out the hard yards — although he comes into this one on the back of two quiet games on the ground.
Other Players to Watch
In his second season, LT Paris Johnson switched sides from right to left and is taking big strides as a player. The Cardinals’ offensive line is strong, and Johnson can already claim to be the best player. A PFF overall grade of 79.2 is a significant step up from last year’s grade of 60.1. Equally adept in both pass and run blocking, Johnson is beginning to look well worth the early first-round pick the Cardinals spent on him last year.
Zaven Collins is a good all-around edge defender who has amassed 43 tackles, 4 sacks, 6 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, and 1 pass deflection. His run defense grade from PFF of 87.3 is the third highest at the position across the league. Run defense has always been Collins’s strength, but his four sacks are already a career-high with six games left as he looks to improve that side of his game.
Vikings/Cardinals History
The Vikings and Cardinals have played each other 30 times, and the Vikings lead the series 18-12. After only winning 3 of the first 10 meetings, the Vikings have dominated the series since the 1990s, winning 15 of the next 20. Minnesota won the last meeting in 2022 and hasn’t lost a home game to the Cardinals since 1977 when they were playing out of St. Louis.
There is the potential for this to be a dress rehearsal for a playoff game down the line, and there’s historically good news for Minnesota there, too. The Vikings and Cardinals have met twice in the postseason, and the Vikings won both games. First, in 1974, the Vikings were on their way to a second successive Super Bowl appearance, and then in 1999, the Vikings went to the championship game with a rookie Randy Moss and co.
The Vikings are favored to continue their good form against the Cardinals and move to 10-2. We will find out on Sunday if they make it happen.
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