Vikings vs. Cardinals: Full Minnesota Game Preview

The Minnesota Vikings find themselves in a bit of an awkward spot, heading into a Thursday Night Football matchup against the Arizona Cardinals this week.

Coming off an embarrassing loss to the Seattle Seahawks, the Vikings are having their overall ability questioned once again—this time to a much higher degree. With an unfavorable early-week matchup against Arizona looming and three difficult games to close out the year, fans of the Purple and Gold will really see what this team is made of as the 2015 regular season nears its end.

With multiple high-profile players expected to miss Thursday's game, all eyes will be on Teddy Bridgewater this week. The second-year signal-caller has failed to live up to the hype so far this season, partly due to things that are out of his control. However, he will need to up his game if the Vikings are to even stand a chance against a well-rounded Cardinals team.

By virtue of a draft-day trade, Seattle gave Minnesota the gift—or curse, depending on Bridgewater's standpoint—but it was against Arizona when his "legend" originated.

Bridgewater saw his first extended action at the professional level as a rookie against the Cardinals during Week 2 of the 2014 preseason. With the Vikings trailing 28-24, Bridgewater guided Minnesota down the field to a 30-28 victory, connecting with former wide receiver Rodney Smith from two yards out with less than 20 seconds to play.

The win in itself was meaningless, but the poise under pressure that Bridgewater showed has become his greatest asset during his relatively young NFL career. He has not been able to take the proverbial "next step" during his sophomore season. But there have been enough moments like this one during more meaningful games to give fans hope that he has yet to reach his ceiling as a professional.

Location: University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Arizona

Time: 7:25 CT/8:25 ET

TV: NFL Network

Week 13 Results and Recap

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

The Vikings have been on the wrong end of a few games this season, but one would be hard-pressed to find a more embarrassing, humbling loss than the 38-7 romp the Seattle Seahawks handed them at TCF Bank Stadium during Week 13.

After Minnesota failed to cash in on a Thomas Rawls turnover early in the first quarter, the rookie running back turned the tables with a five-yard score to give Seattle an early advantage. The Seahawks never really looked back from that point. They stifled the Vikings offense with their trademark defense while Russell Wilson and Co. continued to put points on the board.

Wilson opened up a 14-point advantage in the second quarter, beating Minnesota's defense with his legs for an eight-yard touchdown.

Teddy Bridgewater, who already appeared out of his element, threw an interception on the Vikings' ensuing possession to make matters even worse. Doug Baldwin found the end zone on the very next play, sending Minnesota to the locker room, facing a 21-0 deficit.

The wheels really began to come off in the second half. The Vikings surrendered touchdowns to veteran Fred Jackson and a second to Baldwin from 53 yards out. Minnesota finally put an end to Seattle's 35-0 run when Cordarrelle Patterson returned a kick 101 yards for a touchdown, but the game was well in the books by then.

Steven Hauschka added a short field goal during the fourth quarter to round out the scoring, handing the Vikings their worst loss of the season.

In the midst of all this, Minnesota—already playing without defensive stalwart Linval Joseph—suffered injuries to All-Pro hopefuls Anthony Barr and Harrison Smith. Antone Exum, who had been playing in place of Smith, also sustained an injury, leaving the Vikings defense in a state of disarray heading into a short week.

Simply put, the Vikings may be best served throwing out the tape of Week 13's game. Very few things went right, and those that did lasted for only a short time. Minnesota was overmatched in every sense of the word, giving it plenty of areas to improve upon as the regular season begins to wind down.

NFC North Standings

1. Green Bay Packers (8-4)
2. Minnesota Vikings (8-4)
3. Chicago Bears (5-7)
4. Detroit Lions (4-8)

News and Notes

Jim Mone/Associated Press

Vikings Announce Several Roster Moves; Add Two Safeties

Due to a number of injuries, the Vikings have been forced to make multiple roster moves prior to Thursday's game.

According to the official team website, Minnesota has signed safeties Shaun Prater (free agent) and Anthony Harris (practice squad) to the active 53-man roster, re-added linebacker Terrance Plummer to the practice squad, placed safety Antone Exum on injured reserve and waived defensive end Justin Trattou.

Prater, whose name should be recognizable to Vikings fans, will enter his second stint with Minnesota. He previously wore a purple and gold jersey for 18 regular-season games stretching from 2013 to around the middle of the 2014 season. Prater most recently played for the Indianapolis Colts earlier this season. He has totaled one interception and 10 combined tackles throughout the duration of a career that began back in 2012 with the Cincinnati Bengals.

The most interesting story regarding Minnesota's recent roster moves is embedded within undrafted rookie Anthony Harris. Harris, who was given a late-Day 2 draft grade by many this past April, was once a feared member of the Virginia Cavaliers secondary.

Throughout his collegiate career, Harris totaled 289 combined tackles, six tackles for losses, two sacks, four interceptions, 20 pass defenses and a pair of forced fumbles. He showed plenty of versatility as a college athlete and an eye for the ball, subjecting many (myself included) to the belief that he may one day become the starting safety opposite Harrison Smith for the Vikings.

Smith will not be out there on Thursday, but Harris—who very likely will see extended snaps due to Minnesota's injury issues in its secondary—will receive his first shot at proving he deserves strong consideration for a starting role moving forward.

Vikings Not Happy About Playing on Thursday

Following a few comments made by Cardinals wide receiver (and Minnesota native) Larry Fitzgerald, Vikings players and coaches were asked about their feelings regarding playing on Thursday.

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"It's tough, especially for the Vikings to travel on a short week. I hate 'Thursday Night Football,' to be blunt with you," Fitzgerald said. "It's no fun. You don't get the time to heal your bodies up. ... You just don't get the time to recover from the injuries that you sustain the week before, and it's just tough."

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According to Chris Tomasson of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press, these were not emotions that reflect excitement or enthusiasm to say the least.

"If it was up to me, I'd do them Fridays, but it is what it is," Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. "Everybody has to do it, and honestly, I was in Dallas (as an assistant from 1994-2006), so I had 13 Thursday games (on Thanksgiving)."

Vikings players were not nearly as emphatic as Fitzgerald and did not offer a possible solution like Zimmer, but it became pretty clear through their comments that they are not the biggest fans of Thursday Night Football.

"It's one you just look at and swallow for what it is and get it done," running back Adrian Peterson said.

"In the NFL, things are going to happen in the middle of the season," cornerback Xavier Rhodes said. "Players are going to go down; there's going to be nicks and bruises, injuries."

"Nothing I say is going to change anything," said linebacker Chad Greenway. "Obviously, we're all concerned with health and safety. We're all concerned with all those things, but the reality of it is this is the next game on our schedule."

It's hard to argue with any of the points made here, regarding playing football on Thursdays. As fans, we obviously crave as much NFL as possible, but the level of play on Thursday Night Football is clearly lower than that of typical Sunday or Monday games.

Subjecting athletes to play on less rest with fewer days of preparation is naturally going to lower the overall level of play.

Think of it in terms of studying for a test; when one reviews notes over the course of a week in comparison to cramming in information throughout the duration of an all-nighter—something almost every college student, both current and former, can relate with—the results tend to favor the former.

It really is simple math: More days—and to even further simplify it, hours—equals better results on the test. Football players and college students are equivalent in this way, and they are apparently equivalent in their sentiments regarding midweek "exams" as well.

Bridgewater Motivated by Irvin Calling Him "So Scared"

To be blunt, Teddy Bridgewater played awfully against the Seahawks this past Sunday; it is honestly difficult to point to a single area that he did well in. According to Mark Craig of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, this performance prompted Seattle linebacker Bruce Irvin to state that the Vikings signal-caller was "so scared" throughout the duration of the game.

Given that Bridgewater and Irvin are—apparently—close off the field (per Craig) these words struck a cord:

“I think Bruce was just excited to get the up on us. And I was able to defeat Bruce as a freshman in college [Louisville over West Virginia]. So there’s a little history behind that. But those guys were talking all game. Those guys are a pretty confident group. But to hear that, hey, that’s typical Bruce.”

The response is very "typical Teddy," as he showed the "cool as a cucumber" demeanor many have come to respect about him. But as Minnesota reporters continued to pry for more information on the subject, Bridgewater flashed a spark of the competitor many of his teammates have spoken of. But it is rarely seen through how he conducts himself with the press.

“It is a little embarrassing to hear that,” Bridgewater said. “Bruce is still a good player and a great guy off the field also.”

And he went even further when asked if Irvin's comments will act as motivation moving forward:

“Definitely, definitely. I’m going to make sure that I remember those words. But I can’t lock in and pay too much attention to that. We have a game here in two days. I have to shift my focus to that.”

Mike Zimmer, who has also been under some scrutiny recently, chimed in when asked about how his quarterback is receiving the criticism that reached new heights following Sunday's loss.

“I’m sure he hears things. Just like I hear things. Nobody likes hearing people say how bad you are or anything like that. But I don’t know that if affects him. I think we’re all human.”

The quarterback position naturally draws a lot of attention—more often negative than positive—due to the "what have you done for me lately?" nature of the NFL. Fans of the Vikings are seemingly past the honeymoon phase with Bridgewater, and many are beginning to question whether he is truly the man to lead this team to its first Super Bowl championship.

Given that Bridgewater is relatively active on Twitter and only 23 years old—despite the personality and level of maturity he shows—chances are that he has caught wind of fan scrutiny throughout the course of this season.

Being criticized by a competitor, a teammate or even a coach is one thing, but taking heat from an entire fanbase has the power to do quite a bit of damage to one's psyche—or so I imagine, given that I personally have never played quarterback at the professional level; surely once-again free agent Christian Ponder could offer a more wholesome stance here.

Bridgewater has a "winner's mentality" and is the type of player who is the first in the locker room and the last to leave each every day. So, rest assured, he is doing everything possible to take the next step and help the Vikings offense reach a point in which the team can contend against teams such as Irvin's Seahawks.

It may be time for fans of this team to ease up a bit, remember that Bridgewater is just as human as the next guy—as Zimmer so wisely pointed out—and trust he and the Vikings will straighten out the multitude of offensive issues that have become apparent over the past month.

Keep in mind: This fanbase would have killed to be rooting for an 8-4 team challenging for a division crown back in August. Bridgewater has a lot to do with the Vikings' success in 2015, regardless of whether nonbelievers choose to embrace this fact or not.

Bonus News and Notes

The following list is composed of articles containing general team information, updates and matchup-specific statistics related to Minnesota's Week 14 contest with Arizona:

• Sluggish Vikings Offense Feels Heat — Mark Craig, Star Tribune
• Antone Exum Expect to Miss Time Due to Injury — Matt Vensel, Star Tribune
• Vikings Offensive Line Taking Issues Personally — Jason Gonzalez, Star Tribune
• Mike Zimmer Not Worried About Adrian Peterson's Comments — Ben Goessling, ESPN
• Mike Zimmer Has Rough Trip to McDonalds — Ben Goessling, ESPN
• Arizona Cardinals and Adrian Peterson? Dreaming is Free — Kent Somers, AZ Central
• Highlight Vikings Biggest Issues — Zach Kruse, Bleacher Report
• Brief Look at Vikings-Cardinals History — Christopher Gates, Daily Norseman
• Vikings Want to Get Back on Track — Craig Peters, Vikings.com
• Larry Fitzgerald: Vikings Ball Boy to NFL Wide Receiver — Chris Corso, Vikings.com
• Vikings Collapse Inevitable? — Drew Mahowald, NFC North Barroom

Latest Injury News

Tom Dahlin/Getty Images

Vikings Tuesday Injury Report (8)

Did Not Practice (6)

• DT Linval Joseph (Foot)
• LB Anthony Barr (Groin/Hand)
• LB Brandon Watts (Rib)
• FS Harrison Smith (Knee/Hamstring)
• FS Antone Exum (Rib/Shoulder)
• SS Robert Blanton (Knee)

Limited Practice (2)

• DE Scott Crichton (Ankle)
• SS Andrew Sendejo (Knee)

Full Practice (0)

Notes

According to A.J. Mansour of KFAN, news that Linval Joseph, Anthony Barr, Harrison Smith and Antone Exum have each already been ruled out for Thursday's game against the Cardinals. As Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star Tribune cryptically notes, however, Andrew Sendejo did return to practice on Tuesday—which should lead to optimism that Minnesota will have at least one experienced safety available in Arizona.

Key Injuries

DT Linval Joseph (Foot)

As I noted last week, foot injuries—and all lower extremity ailments, for that matter—are bad news for big-bodied players. Joseph, who missed last week's game against Seattle due to a foot injury, will again be inactive against Arizona this week due to the same medical condition.

Sharrif Floyd, who stepped into Joseph's role and had his starting position filled by Tom Johnson against the Seahawks, actually played very well—especially given the circumstances. His performance—along with the play of Brian Robison—was one of the few silver linings from Minnesota's disheartening and roster-crushing loss to Seattle.

For those skeptical of the eye test, Pro Football Focus determined that Floyd's play was worthy of a plus-2.7 grade, making him one of two Vikings defensive players (Robison, again, being the other) to come out of Sunday's game "in the green" on this spectrum of evaluation.

The loss of Joseph was still apparent. However Minnesota has much greater injury concerns at other positions due to the defensive line remaining the only level that still features plenty of depth.

LB Anthony Barr (Groin/Hand)

Anthony Barr, who was playing in Sunday's game despite groin and hand ailments, seemingly re-aggravated one or both of these injuries during the first half against the Seahawks. While he may have been able to participate during Week 14 had Minnesota been scheduled for a Sunday matchup, the second-year stud linebacker will miss Thursday's contest against the Cardinals.

The absence of Barr on top of Audie Cole (who was placed on injured reserve earlier this season) naturally warrants a "wish Gerald Hodges was still here" type of response. It's easy to say this given the circumstances, but given the luck of Vikings fans over the years, he very well could have ended up injured by this point as well.

In place of Barr, the Vikings will likely be forced to start Jason Trusnik for the first time this season, according to Chris Tomasson of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press.

Trusnik, who was in on 32 of a possible 71 defensive snaps against Seattle, recorded three tackles during Minnesota's loss at home. Pro Football Focus pegged him with a negative-1.6 grade for his trouble, which still came out better than the evaluations of Chad Greenway, Terence Newman, Everson Griffen and Exum.

This certainly represents a less-than-ideal situation for the Vikings, especially given their opponent. But Minnesota will have to make due with what it has. In consolation, knowing that Barr will not play and allowing Trusnik to practice as a starter is a better situation than replacing the lethal Vikings defender on the fly.

FS Harrison Smith (Knee/Hamstring)

The absence of Joseph, Barr and now Harrison Smith seems to feed the "strike three, you're out" theme for the Vikings. If being without two of the team's best defenders was not already punishment enough, Minnesota will be forced to defend potentially the most dynamic offense in the NFL without the most important member of its secondary.

Being with Joseph and Barr certainly hurts, but given the matchup, Smith's absence since Thursday may prove to be the greatest loss of all. Furthermore, the Vikings will be forced to shuffle their secondary again due to Exum being expected to miss extended time, per Matt Vensel of the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

No formal announcement has been made as to who will start at both free and strong safety for Minnesota. But it appears likely that it will be Sendejo and one of Anthony Harris or Shaun Prater—given that Robert Blanton has not shown signs of being able to play, per Tomasson.

Above all, the Vikings' injury report is a major downer this week. Fortunately, Minnesota has given itself a pretty solid cushion with eight wins through 12 games, which allows it to avoid a do-or-die scenario during Week 14.

To be optimistic, sometimes being forced to play without key players can be a character builder. These scenarios, while never ideal, have a tendency to unearth untapped talent and better the team moving forward; think Tom Brady-Drew Bledsoe.

Maybe, just maybe, the injuries to Smith, Blanton and Exum will prove to be a blessing in disguise when Anthony Harris gets an opportunity to showcase the talent that led many to believe he was a steal as an undrafted free-agent signee.

Injury report information courtesy of Vikings.com.

Key Matchups

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

RB Adrian Peterson vs. Cardinals Defensive Front-Seven

Absent a dynamic passing attack and a multitude of key defensive playmakers, the Vikings' hopes of winning this Thursday rely heavily on the back of All-Pro-lock Adrian Peterson.

According to the Jon Krawczynski of the Associate Press (via Bismarck Tribune), Peterson has been pushing for a larger workload in order to have an even greater impact on an offense that has left a lot to be desired. Thursday may mark a "be careful what you wish for" moment for Peterson. The Vikings desperately need to get the ground game going against Arizona's dominant defensive secondary.

The greatest number of carries No. 28 has received in a game throughout his illustrious career is 35; this came in a 23-20 Vikings win over the Bears back during Week 15 in 2013.

Given the lack of offensive output, defensive injuries and outside pressure to put the ball in his hands more, Peterson could very easily end up approaching Derrick Henry territory this week—the Alabama running back has tallied 44 or more carries in back-to-back weeks for the Crimson Tide.

Without a stifling defense to fall back on, the Vikings need Peterson to have "one of those days" against a strong Cardinals front-seven.

QB Teddy Bridgewater vs. Cardinals Defensive Secondary

Whether Peterson receives 50 or five carries against Arizona, Teddy Bridgewater needs to play better this week. Not only do the Vikings need more from their signal-caller, but Bridgewater himself could really benefit from an uplifting performance.

However, playing well against Arizona's defense, especially its secondary, is much easier said than done. Many quarterbacks have fallen at the hands of this unit. The defensive back combination of former LSU players Patrick Peterson and Tyrann Mathieu is especially daunting, as this pairing has given its opposition fits all season long.

It may be a long shot, but given how overmatched the Vikings appear to be on paper, this matchup has the potential for a breakout performance that fans will not soon forget. However, it just as easily could leave Bridgewater subject to further criticism and scrutiny (fair or not) if he fails to establish any sort of offensive rhythm again.

HC Mike Zimmer vs. HC Bruce Arians

Buried beneath the Vikings' injury report, the allure of Thursday Night Football and criticisms of Minnesota's offense is one heck of a coaching matchup. Geniuses of their respective sides of the football will clash on Thursday when Mike Zimmer and his defensive excellence attempts to slow down the offense-minded ways of Bruce Arians.

Zimmer, who spent many years as a defensive coordinator for the Cincinnati Bengals, has gone head-to-head with Arians, a former offensive coordinator of the Pittsburgh Steelers during the same time frame, on a number of occasions. Both coaches have had their triumphs throughout their history, and the pair of football masterminds will finally have a chance to game-plan against each other as head coaches.

Similar to Zimmer, Arians had to wait far too long for a head-coaching gig. In far more dramatic fashion, organizations realized Arians' excellence when he led the Indianapolis Colts on an interim basis while Chuck Pagan battled cancer. He has since become "the man" for the Cardinals, showing the football world what it had been missing through two-plus seasons of winning football.

The Vikings head coach will not have all his chess pieces to play with on Thursday, which makes his role both in preparation and during the game as a play-caller critical to Minnesota's success in slowing down the Arians and Carson Palmer-led Arizona offense.

Matchup X-Factors

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

Vikings X-Factor of the Week: DE Everson Griffen

Every replacement player from Jason Trusnik to Tom Johnson represents a X-Factor for the Vikings this week, as each reserve option attempts to somewhat replicate the performance of the players they are replacing.

With so many key defensive players out for Minnesota, the team will be forced to rely on one of the few All-Pro-caliber players remaining in the lineup to generate a pass-rush: defensive end Everson Griffen. Griffen, who currently leads the team with 7.5 sacks to date, will need to put forth his best effort of the year in order to give the Vikings a chance defensively.

Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer is in the midst of the best season of his career, reaching heights he never came close to during his early years as a Cincinnati Bengal. As it turns out, the best way to slow down any quarterback is to keep him from throwing the football—and the only way to do that is to apply continuous pressure.

Furthermore, Xavier Rhodes, who will take on a massive role of his own attempting to slow down Larry Fitzgerald and Michael Floyd, will be eternally grateful if Griffen can continuously get in the face of Palmer. As Mike Zimmer has noted on a number of occasions, it all starts with putting pressure on the quarterback, and Minnesota simply does not have a chance to keep Palmer in check unless Griffen ups his play to an All-Pro level.

Cardinals X-Factor of the Week: WR John Brown

John Brown has become a bigger name this season, largely due to Fantasy Football players searching for the "next big thing", and this praise is rightfully deserved.

Fitzgerald and Floyd—being a Hall of Famer and first-round pick, respectively—tend to draw the majority of the attention when discussing Arizona's receiving corps, but Brown has somewhat quietly established himself as a dangerous threat for the Cardinals.

The Vikings will do everything in their power to shutdown Fitzgerald, and the rest of the defense's attention will naturally fall to Floyd. However, even if Minnesota does manage to keep Arizona's top options at bay, it could still end up falling to the Palmer-led aerial attack due the presence of Brown.

There are few offenses in the NFL that boast three legitimate talents at wide receiver—the Pittsburgh Steelers (Antonio Brown, Martavis Bryant, Markus Wheaton) possibly being the greatest example—and Arizona represents one of them due to Brown's emergence as a legitimate high-end option.

Many teams, the Vikings included, would love to feature Brown as, at the very least, a No. 2 option in their offense, but the selfish Cardinals have the luxury of keeping him a bit of a secret as an X-Factor-type weapon.

Prediction: Cardinals 31, Vikings 10

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

To be blunt, Minnesota appears destined to lose to Arizona on Thursday Night Football.

The Vikings will be without three of their very best players in Linval Joseph, Anthony Barr and Harrison Smith, playing on the road, facing a team that is arguably the class of the NFC and has been given only three days of preparation time to combat these factors.

Furthermore, as Eric Thompson of the Daily Norseman points out, Minnesota has a record of 1-15 over the course of their last season's worth of away games played on national television.

Simply put, what the Vikings face during Week 14 represents a worst-case scenario, a true recipe for disaster and has the unfortunate appearance of yet another abysmal Thursday football game. In fact, one could argue that Minnesota's outlook this week is the perfect example and true epitome of why Thursday Night Football should be reserved for Thanksgiving and nothing more.

Arizona, which is slowly beginning to look like the NFL's most complete team, is much more healthy, playing on its own soil—which means it does not have to travel, an overlooked factor of Thursday games—and owns the roster with a quarterback playing at a MVP level.

Every game is played for a reason, as no contest may be decided by the opinions of analysts, fans or players, but if there was ever a time when Vikings football is not the best television option available, this may be it.

On paper, this matchup represents a personification of the closing words spoken by the academic decathlon judge from the unparalleled motion picture Billy Madison:

"I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul."

The Cardinals will trounce the Vikings by multiple scores on Thursday, forcing Minnesota to its first losing streak of the season and enhancing the rapidly growing perception that this team is not playoff worthy.

It looks bleak for Minnesota fans, but continue to emphasize the deep-breathing exercises learned long before the 2015 calendar year, and remember: Better, healthier days are in the near future for this young organization.

All statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference, unless otherwise noted.

For more Vikings news, statistics and discussion, find me on Twitter@RobertReidellBT.