Skip to main content
Advertising

News | Minnesota Vikings – vikings.com

Early Look: Cardinals at Vikings

EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. — The Vikings return home this weekend looking to snap a four-game losing streak.

Minnesota couldn't complete a last-minute drive Sunday at Washington as the Vikings fell 26-20 to the Redskins to drop their record to 5-4.

The Vikings will now play host to the Arizona Cardinals, who are coming off a 23-20 win over San Francisco and are 4-4-1. The Cardinals put up 441 yards of offense in Sunday's win.

 Here's an early look at Sunday's game:

Passing: Vikings quarterback Kyle Rudolph completed 31 of 40 passes for 307 yards with two touchdowns and an interception. Bradford went over 300 yards passing for the first time this season and completed 77.5 percent of his passes for the second consecutive week.

Bradford has completed 197 of 283 passes this season for a career-high completion percentage of 69.6. He has thrown for 2,022 yards with 11 touchdowns and two interceptions.

Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer completed 30 of 49 passes for a season-high 376 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions Sunday. Palmer has eclipsed 300 passing yards four times this season.

Palmer has started eight games for Arizona and has completed 207 of 331 passes for 2,444 yards. The former No. 1 overall pick has thrown 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions.

Rushing: The Vikings produced just 47 rushing yards Sunday for their second-lowest output of the season, and had trouble converting on short-yardage situations on the ground.

Nick Easton led Minnesota with nine carries for 13 yards while Jerick McKinnon had six carries for a team-high 16 yards. Wide receiver Adam Thielen had an 11-yard rush and Ronnie Hillman had four attempts for two yards.

McKinnon and Asiata have nearly identical stat lines this season. McKinnon has 81 carries for 240 yards and a touchdown while Asiata has 80 carries for 240 yards and three scores. Hillman has 16 carries for 41 yards.

Cardinals running back David Johnson had 19 carries for 55 yards and a touchdown Sunday against the 49ers. Palmer had one carry for 16 yards.

Johnson has been one of the league's top running backs this season and ranks sixth in the NFL in carries (175) and is fourth in yards (760). His nine rushing touchdowns are tied for second in the league.

Receiving: Vikings wide receiver Stefon Diggs put on a show in his first professional game in his home state of Maryland. He caught 13 passes for 164 yards, becoming the first NFL player to record 13 or more catches in consecutive games and setting the franchise's two-game high with 26 (Cris Carter had 24 in a two-game stretch in 1995).

Minnesota tight end Kyle Rudolph had five catches for 69 yards and a touchdown. Thielen had three catches for 21 yards and a score. McKinnon and Cordarrelle Patterson each had three catches and 17 yards apiece.

Diggs leads the Vikings (and is tied for third in the NFL) with 61 catches. The 2015 fifth-round pick is ninth in the league with 710 yards and has a pair of touchdowns.

Rudolph has 37 catches for 392 yards and a team-high five touchdown catches. Thielen has 32 catches for 453 yards and two scores.

Arizona wide receiver (and Minneapolis native) Larry Fitzgerald had 12 catches for 133 yards Sunday, and Michael Floyd had five catches for 101 yards. Johnson had five catches for 46 yards and a touchdown catch.

Fitzgerald is second in the NFL with 68 catches and has 687 receiving yards and five touchdowns. Johnson, an all-purpose back, is second on the Cardinals with 40 catches for 453 yards. John Brown has 380 receiving yards, and Floyd has 358 yards.

Defense: The Vikings allowed a pair of first-quarter touchdowns Sunday in Washington before limiting the Redskins to four second-half field goals. Minnesota gave up 388 yards and allowed Washington to covert six of its 12 third-down tries, the third straight week an opponent has succeeded on 50 percent on its third-down opportunities.

Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks left Sunday's game in the first quarter with a hip injury and didn't return. Minnesota was also without starting nickel back Mackensie Alexander. Linval Joseph forced a fumble and Everson Griffen recovered it against Washington. Danielle Hunter had a sack of Kirk Cousins.

Minnesota ranks first in the NFL in points allowed per game (16.9) and is third in yards allowed per game (308.8). The Vikings rank second with a plus-12 turnover differential. Griffen leads Minnesota with 6.0 sacks, and Hunter has 5.0.

Arizona held San Francisco to 281 yards on Sunday and forced a fumble. The Cardinals registered three sacks against the 49ers.

Arizona ranks second in the NFL by allowing 295.2 yards per game and is tied for third at 17.8 points allowed per game. Linebacker Chandler Jones has 7.0 sacks, and fellow linebacker Markus Golden has 6.0.

Special Teams: Vikings punter Kevin McDermott had another strong day. He averaged 43.4 yards per punt and had a net average of 42.2 yards. Locke placed two of his five punts inside the 20-yard line.

Locke is averaging 43.2 yards per punt this season and is second in the NFL with 23 punts landed inside the 20-yard.

Vikings kicker Kevin McDermott did not have a field goal attempt Sunday and made two of three extra point tries. Walsh has made 12 of 16 field goals this season and is 15 of 19 on extra points.

Arizona kicker Chandler Catanzaro connected on three field goals Sunday, including a 34-yard try as time expired to give the Cardinals their fourth win. Catanzaro has made 11 of 14 field goal tries and is 21 of 22 on extra points.

The Cardinals changed punters after three games. Ryan Quigley has assumed punting duties for Arizona. He is averaging 41.6 yards per punt with two touchbacks.

Look back at photos over the course of time featuring games between the Vikings and the Cardinals.

Over The Years

The Vikings are 15-11 all-time against the Cardinals, with two of those matchups coming in the postseason. Minnesota has fared well against the Cardinals of late as it has won 12 of the past 16 contests.

Minnesota scored a 41-21 win over Arizona in the 1998 playoffs and also had a 30-14 win over the franchise in 1974 when the Cardinals were in St. Louis.

Last meeting: Cardinals 23, Vikings 20, Dec. 10, 2015, In Glendale

Facing Arizona on a short week, the Vikings were hurt by three fumbles in a gritty effort on Thursday Night Football.

Adrian Peterson had a 9-yard rushing touchdown, and Walsh added a 44-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 at halftime.

The Cardinals scored the next 10 points before Minnesota rallied behind a 54-yard field goal by Walsh and a 7-yard touchdown pass from Stefon Diggs to Mike Wallace.

Arizona kicked a 47-yard field goal for a 23-30 lead with 1 minute and 23 seconds left, leaving Minnesota one chance for a last-minute drive. Bridgewater drove the Vikings to Arizona's 31-yard line but was sacked and fumbled with just seconds remaining.

Bridgewater completed 25 of 36 passes for a career-high 335 yards with a touchdown in the loss. Peterson had 23 carries for 69 yards and a score, and Rudolph led the Vikings with six catches for 67 yards. The Vikings put up 389 of offense in the loss.

Minnesota's defense sacked Palmer twice as Griffen and Hunter each had a sack. The Vikings were without starters Joseph, Anthony Barr, Harrison Smith and Andrew Sendejo.

Minnesota dropped to 8-5 with the loss while Arizona improved to 11-2. Both teams wound up winning their respective divisions.

This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. Please use the Contact Us link in our site footer to report an issue.
Advertising