ARI at MIN: The Vikings Get a Shot at a Second 5-Game Win Streak
ARI at MIN: Week 13
To kick off the 2024 regular season, the Vikings jumped out to a 5-0 record. Not bad, eh?
Minnesota ventured into the bye flawless and then they … stumbled. Kevin O’Connell’s team dropped a pair of games coming out of the week off — a Lions loss and a Rams loss — but have since gotten back on track, stacking up four wins in a row. Arizona is visiting U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, December 1st. Do the Vikings climb up to 10-2 as they push the win streak up to five in a row?
ARI at MIN: Making Life Difficult for a QB Who Makes Life Difficult
Kyler Murray can make a defense look foolish.
The small, quick QB has a knack for evading rushers and has pretty good zip on his ball. No doubt, Brian Flores’ game plan is going to begin and end with making life difficult for the passer who makes life difficult for the defense.
Going into the game, Murray has completed 68.7% of his passes for 2,343 yards, 12 touchdowns, and 4 interceptions. Murray has added yards and scores on the ground, too. More specifically, the speedy quarterback has run for 380 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Helping him is James Conner, who is coming in as the 9th-best running back on PFF. The veteran running back is sitting on 166 carries for 705 yards and 5 touchdowns. He has also proven to be a capable pass catcher, turning 35 targets into 29 catches for 288 yards. Corral the runner and life will be far more difficult for Mr. Murray.
The top option in the passing game isn’t Marvin Harrison Jr. (at least not yet). Instead, it’s tight end Trey McBride. The TE1 has 61 receptions for 685 yards. Finding a way to disrupt that key connection will be similarly important when it comes to making Kyler Murray uncomfortable.
Working against Minnesota is the simple fact that they will be without Ivan Pace Jr., one of the best weapons on defense. Blake Cashman is going to be more important than ever and the top safety trio is going to be leaned on to put in tons of work, as well. We may even see a bit more of Theo Jackson if there ends up being a need for another safety.
During the offseason, I insisted that we would see a Minnesota win in the Week 13 game. Here is a snippet I offered at the time: “The Cardinals will be travelling to U.S. Bank Stadium, which is bad news for Jonathan Gannon’s team but a welcome reprieve for Kevin O’Connell’s side of things. Minnesota, energized by the home fans, jumps out to an early lead and doesn’t look back. The Vikings appear ready to push for a Wild Card spot.”
I won’t go against the prediction. Vikings win.
Official Prediction: Vikings 33 – Cardinals 24
Prediction Record: 8-3
Editor’s Note: Information from Pro Football Reference and PFF helped with this piece.
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K. Joudry is the Senior Editor for Vikings Territory and PurplePTSD. He has been covering the Vikings full time since the summer of 2021. He can be found on Twitter, as a co-host for Notes from the North, and as the proprietor at The Vikings Gazette, a humble Vikings Substack.