The Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings face off on Sunday in an NFL showdown at US Bank Stadium. When these two teams faced off in 2021 it was the Cardinals that secured the 34-33 victory.
Arizona comes into this game with a 3-4 record overall, but they looked excellent in the last game against the New Orleans Saints. The Cardinals scored 42 points, and that led to the eight-point victory. Kyler Murray completed 20 of his 29 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown. Eno Benjamin had 12 carries for 82 yards and a touchdown. Deandre Hopkins was back for his first game of the season, and he caught 10 passes for 103 yards. Arizona is averaging 22.3 points, while their defense is giving up 25.1 points per game.
On the other side of this matchup is the Vikings, who sit with a 5-1 record overall, and they are coming off a bye. In the last game against the Dolphins, the Vikings scored 24 points, and that was enough to secure the eight point victory. Two games ago, against the Chicago Bears, they were able to win 29-22. Kirk Cousins is having a nice season throwing for 1502 yards, nine touchdowns, and five interceptions. Justin Jefferson has caught 46 passes for 654 yards and two touchdowns. The offense for the Vikings is ranked 13th, and the defense is ranked 12th.
The Cardinals are 4-9 against the spread in their last 13 games against a team with a winning record. The Vikings are 2-6 against the spread in their last eight games against a team with a losing record. The Cardinals are 0-4-2 against the spread in their last six meetings against the Vikings.
The Vikings struggle against mobile quarterbacks, and I expect a big game from Kyler Murray. The Vikings also seem to play down to their competition. The Vikings should have beaten the Dolphins by at least two touchdowns in the last game, but they couldn’t do enough. Look for the big game from the Cardinals' offense to be enough for Arizona to cover the spread here.
AUTHOR: Shane Mickle
