Vikings vs. Cardinals: Postgame Grades, Notes and Quotes for Minnesota

The Minnesota Vikings suffered a heartbreaking loss to the Arizona Cardinals at the University of Phoenix Stadium on Thursday Night Football. But, the manner in which Minnesota conducted itself in a game that appeared hopeless due to a variety of factors saw coaches, players and even some fans feel more optimistic than dejected when the play clock struck zero.

Minnesota entered the game with nothing to lose. Injuries to key defensive players Linval Joseph, Anthony Barr and Harrison Smith combined with the drawbacks of playing on Thursday and Arizona's prolific roster, saw nearly everyone count the Vikings out in some cases minutes after their loss to the Seattle Seahawks.

This "no-chance magic" quickly became the Vikings' greatest weapon. Arizona had an opportunity to put six points on the board on its opening drive, but was forced to settle for three due to a David Johnson drop. It was quite possibly at this exact moment that Minnesota felt it had a realistic shot to pull off an insurmountable upset over the Cardinals—and this showed on the Vikings' opening offensive drive.

Right from the beginning, Teddy Bridgewater had the appearance of a completely different player against Arizona in comparison to the way he looked against Seattle. Bridgewater and Adrian Peterson guided the offense right down the field and into the end zone on a vintage nine-yard score by the Vikings' dynamic running back, laughing in the face of the Cardinals' top-ranked defense.

As expected, Carson Palmer responded by leading a scoring drive of his own. Palmer delivered a strike to John Brown as he crossed over the right side of the field, and the second-year wide receiver exploded past Captain Munnerlyn, who put himself at a distinct disadvantage with his angle of pursuit, for a 65-yard touchdown.

The Vikings, then facing their second deficit of the game, continued to move the ball effectively. With Bridgewater leading the offense into striking distance once again, Minnesota made its first significant mistake of the game—a Jarius Wright lost fumble in the red zone. But, the Vikings' injury-ravaged defense continued to hold strong and allowed Blair Walsh to tie the game at 10 apiece with a 44-yard field goal to close out the half.

Minnesota showed signs of giving up the competitive charade early in the third quarter, fumbling away another possession on a "cute" play call Norv Turner that saw Arizona's defense blow up a reverse exchange between Peterson and Mike Wallace in the backfield.

Palmer quickly made the Vikings pay for the error, as all MVP candidates have a tendency to do. The Arizona signal-caller completed an intermediate pass attempt to Minnesota native Michael Floyd on the right side of the field before taking off down the right sideline. Larry Fitzgerald, the more widely recognized Minnesota-born Cardinals wide receiver, ran out of in front of Floyd and delivered a textbook pancake block on undrafted rookie Anthony Harris to spring Floyd into the open for a 42-yard touchdown.

Arizona, appearing set to pull away from Minnesota, found itself deep in its opponent's territory early in the fourth quarter. Johnson, who cost the his team an opening-drive touchdown with a dropped pass, took a Palmer handoff 26 yards before diving toward the pylon—a play that was initially ruled a touchdown.

The Vikings defense, granted new life by the call reversal, held the Cardinals to another Chandler Catanzaro field goal. Everson Griffen was responsible for the biggest play of the stand, breaking off a Jared Veldheer block for a game-changing sack.

Minnesota, in need of a quick response with time beginning to become an issue, put three points on the board on its ensuing offensive possession. Walsh drilled a risky 54-yard field-goal attempt, rewarding Mike Zimmer's confidence in him and getting the Vikings back to within seven points.

Playing complementary football, the Vikings defense forced a quick three-and-out to hand the ball back over to Bridgewater and Co. Minnesota's quarterback went on to lead potentially the most impressive drive of his young career, taking his offense 88 yards on 11 plays. Bridgewater finished off the drive with a third-down touchdown completion to Wallace from seven yards out, knotting the game up at 20 apiece.

With the clock sinking below the five-minute mark, Palmer again produced results. Rookie cornerback Trae Waynes intercepted the Arizona quarterback on the second play of what proved to be a game-winning drive, but the potentially game-altering turnover came back due to an offside call on Sharrif Floyd.

Catanzaro converted his third field goal of the day for a hat trick, which left a shade less than 90 seconds for Bridgewater and the Vikings offense.

Bridgewater, in continuation of his career day, promptly led Minnesota into field-goal range, largely aided by a 22-yard catch and run by Wright. With Zimmer attempting to position his team for a moderately difficult field-goal try, disaster struck. Bridgewater dropped back with the intention of throwing an intermediate pass to the sideline, but Dwight Freeney had other ideas.

The veteran defensive end blew by Matt Kalil with his trademark spin move, connecting with the Minnesota quarterback from his blind side as he attempted to throw the ball away. Freeney's contact to Bridgewater's throwing arm caused a game-defining fumble, giving the Vikings deja vu of their Week 4 loss to the Denver Broncos.

For the second consecutive week, Minnesota fell to an NFC West opponent, dropping its Week 14 matchup against Arizona by a final score of 23-20.

Bridgewater finished 25-of-36 (69.4 percent) with a career-high 335 passing yards and one touchdown. Peterson carried the ball 23 times for 69 yards and scored career touchdown No. 100. Kyle Rudolph led all pass-catchers with six receptions and 67 receiving yards, and Wallace added three catches, 42 yards and his second touchdown of the season.

Chad Greenway, Eric Kendricks and Harris finished in a three-way tie for the team lead in combined tackles with each registering eight. Xavier Rhodes played his best game of the season in coverage, earning three pass defenses while also adding five combined tackles. Minnesota's defense combined for only two sacks, which were split between Griffen and rookie Danielle Hunter.

Position Grades for Vikings

Ann Heisenfelt/Associated Press

Quarterback: A

Less than one week after arguably the worst performance of his young career, Teddy Bridgewater responded with possibly his best game to date. He consistently drove the Vikings offense down the field, putting his team in position to score throughout the game, but the team fumbled away three of those opportunities.

Minnesota's final turnover, a lost fumble statistically attributed to Bridgewater, cost it a chance of tying the game with a field goal. Many will blame this unfavorable result on the Vikings quarterback, but there is a low chance he would have gotten his throwaway attempt in the air had Dwight Freeney been held up even in the slightest.

Bridgewater was an elite quarterback for the Vikings against the Cardinals' top-five defense, elevating his play to new heights when his team needed him most. That's called being a franchise quarterback.

Running Back: B

Adrian Peterson put together a solid performance against a tough Arizona run defense. He was consistent enough to keep the offense rolling, but Week 14 did not feature any spectacular moments. Peterson's nine-yard touchdown run was an outstanding carry, and he also added another 20-plus-yard carry to his season total, but this was nothing more than an ordinary day by No. 28's standards.

Wide Receivers: A

With Bridgewater throwing the ball well, Minnesota's wide receivers put together an impressive effort against arguably the best defensive secondary in the NFL. Jarius Wright caught five passes for 51 yards, and for the first time all season, Mike Wallace looked dynamic on his way to collecting three catches, 42 yards and touchdown No. 2 on the year.

Patrick Peterson largely held Stefon Diggs in check, but the rookie did contribute two catches for 12 receiving yards. Adam Thielen rounded out the unit with one reception for seven yards.

Tight Ends: A

Similar to the Vikings wide receivers, their tight end group excelled against Arizona. Kyle Rudolph got back on track, catching six passes for 67 yards. Rhett Ellison contributed a 41-yard catch, continuing his biweekly trend of outstanding catch and runs. Rookie MyCole Pruitt recorded two catches for 32 yards to round out a collectively impressive day for this positional group.

Offensive Line: C

Minnesota's offensive line played well for about 98 percent of the game. Bridgewater was sacked three times, but he seemingly had much more time in the pocket on Thursday than he has in previous weeks.

But, this position grade reflects an average overall game, as Matt Kalil's missed whiff of Freeney during the game's most critical play was unacceptable. The Vikings proved capable of competing against the league's best with their performance against the Cardinals, but it is critical and preventable mistakes like this that have kept Minnesota from ascending to the next level.

In Week 4, it was a missed pickup block by Peterson that cost the Vikings the game, and history repeated itself both in terms of Minnesota losing on a last-second forced fumble and Kalil playing subpar football.

Defensive Line: A

The Vikings defensive line did an excellent job of covering up the absence of Linval Joseph. Everson Griffen was on a collision course the entire game, consistently pushing Arizona left tackle Jared Veldheer back into Carson Palmer's hip and finally being rewarded with a game-changing sack with the Cardinals set to open up a two-touchdown advantage.

Sharrif Floyd, with exception to the offside penalty that brought back Trae Waynes' interception, and Tom Johnson also played well in the interior. Brian Robison remained effective, and rookie Danielle Hunter quietly pushed his sack total to 3.5 on the year—seriously, how many draft-day steals did Minnesota end up with this past April? 

Linebackers: B

Minnesota's middle level of its defense, similar to the defensive line, was without its greatest asset Thursday, as Anthony Barr was inactive due to injury. The Vikings elected to run a lot of nickel defense, almost exclusively utilizing Eric Kendricks and Chad Greenway at linebacker.

Rookie Edmond Robinson saw some action, recording a tackle, but the duo of Kendricks (eight) and Greenway (eight) registered 16 combined tackles with making few mistakes in pass coverage.

Defensive Backs: A

While Palmer did cross the 300-yard passing plateau, Thursday's effort by Minnesota's defensive backs was outstanding from top to bottom. Playing without Harrison Smith, the Vikings moved Terence Newman out to free safety alongside undrafted rookie Anthony Harris. His NFL debut went well and should earn him an opportunity to challenge for Andrew Sendejo's job.

Newman and Captain Munnerlyn, who uncharacteristically missed a key tackle on John Brown's 65-yard touchdown, were sufficient in coverage and active both in run defense and against short completions.

The true hero of Minnesota's defensive secondary—and runner-up to only Bridgewater for my Vikings Player of the Week honor—was cornerback Xavier Rhodes. He made two mistakes the entire day: dropping a potential pick-six and batting a pass away instead of attempting to catch it. Rhodes has never been known for his ball skills, but he played like a true shutdown cornerback in coverage from start to finish.

Rhodes was also the one responsible for pulling David Johnson down short of a touchdown to set up the Vikings' goal-line stand. Best of all, there is a possibility he played the majority of his best game of the year with a broken wrist, as his hand appeared to go limp upon being crunched between Harris' helmet and a Cardinals player.

Special Teams: A

Blair Walsh continued to excel when it mattered most for the Vikings, connecting on both of his field-goal attempts, which included a converted 54-yard try to get Minnesota back within striking distance. Jeff Locke, who only punted twice due to Bridgewater finding another gear, was solid as well; there are strangely no complaints about the punting situation this week.

Cordarrelle Patterson did a nice job returning kicks, giving Minnesota great field position on a number of occasions—specifically following his game-long 41-yard return. The box score argues that Marcus Sherels didn't do anything Thursday, but he does receive pity points for having a long punt return called back due to a penalty.

The Vikings' coverage units were also on their game, holding Patrick Peterson in check on punt returns and keeping Kerwynn Williams completely irrelevant.

Coaching: B

For the first time this season, offensive coordinator Norv Turner's performance reflected a solid A grade. The only questionable call was the failed reverse that cost Minnesota possession, but he did an excellent job of mixing up his personnel and keeping the Vikings offense consistent through the entire game. Eleven players caught passes from Bridgewater against the Cardinals; that's not only great quarterbacking but an example of great personnel variation and usage by Turner.

Mike Zimmer, on the other hand, deserves an A too, given how well he coached a decimated defense against a prolific offense. But, it's hard not to question his decision to attempt to gain a few more yards with a short pass to the sidelines as time became scarce.

He could have brought out the field-goal team on third down with 13 seconds left to attempt a 41-yard try, which seems like the better decision given Walsh's perfect 2-of-2 day, but if the Vikings kicker had whiffed, fans and analysts alike would be questioning why Zimmer didn't try to get closer. It's a lose-lose situation for him, and since this decision led to Kalil handing Arizona the game on a silver platter, the grade for the coaches takes a slight hit.

Offense Turns the Corner

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Coming off a game in which Minnesota finished with an egregious 125 yards of total offense, few could (or should, honestly) have predicted a consistent, fluid and productive day for Teddy Bridgewater, Adrian Peterson and the Vikings offense.

Facing a top-ranked Arizona defense on a short week, Minnesota appeared doomed from the start. Instead of mailing in this matchup—which no one could have blamed them for, given the injuries—the Vikings came out of the tunnel surging on offense.

Bridgewater consistently connected with receivers on short and intermediate passes and even hit at a 50 percent rate on passes that traveled 20-plus yards in the air. He posted a career-high 335 passing yards, kicking it into high gear when his team needed him most.

He could have finished with multiple passing touchdowns as well, but a pair of fumbles deep in Arizona territory cost him the opportunity.

Meanwhile, Peterson continued chugging along with a solid game of his own. By his own standards, 69 rushing yards and a touchdown with a 3.0 per-carry average borders on unacceptable, but his performance was more than enough to help the Vikings exhibit a multidimensional offense against a Cardinals defense that came in ranked at No. 4 in both average yards and points allowed per game.

Furthermore, 11 different players caught passes from Bridgewater. This includes four wide receivers, three tight ends, three running backs and a fullback. Utilizing a wide variety of different skill sets, Minnesota produced a number of explosive plays, keeping Arizona on edge throughout the duration of the game.

Speaking of explosive, Mike Wallace finally looked like himself Thursday. His performance was a prime example of "better late than never," as he beat Arizona with his agility, route running and speed to keep Minnesota moving down the field.

Bridgewater was asked about the offense's breakout 389-yard performance during his postgame press conference, per Vikings.com:

"

I think we took a big step as a unit. We showed that we are capable of doing some great things. When we're clicking on all cylinders, we're a tough team to stop. We shot ourselves in the foot some today with three turnovers, but for the most part, the guys did a great job of executing the game plan and doing what we asked of them.

"

If Minnesota turned the ball over one fewer time, this game could easily have ended up in overtime or an outright Vikings victory. Hats off to offensive coordinator Norv Turner, who has faced plenty of scrutiny in recent weeks for his offense's consistently underwhelming performances; now it's time to make this a trend.

Rookies Exceed Expectations

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

With Linval Joseph, Anthony Barr and Harrison Smith all inactive due to injury, Minnesota's defense-first team appeared doomed from the start.

Mike Zimmer, who had just three days to prepare for the No. 1-ranked offense both in yards and points per game, somehow continued the Vikings' trend of solid defensive performances.

Terence Newman, who has seen time as Minnesota's No. 2 cornerback throughout the year, moved out to center field in place of the injured Smith. With Andrew Sendejo also inactive due to injury, Minnesota debuted undrafted rookie safety Anthony Harris.

Moving Newman to safety opened up a cornerback spot, which resulted in first-round pick Trae Waynes making his first start as a professional.

When asked about this decision during his postgame press conference, Zimmer expressed some confidence in his rookie cornerback, per Vikings.com.

"Truthfully, it was because we thought Waynes was the next-best player," he said. "That's how we could get him on the field by moving [Newman] to safety. That wasn't a lie."

In addition to Harris and Waynes, fellow rookies Danielle Hunter (28) and Edmond Robinson (26) played extended snaps with Joseph and Barr on the shelf.

Though it's a bit unfair to include him with the grouping of rookies at this point, second-round pick Eric Kendricks also took on greater responsibilities due to Barr's absence.

From a first-round pick to an undrafted free-agent signing, every Vikings rookie who received more responsibility exceeded expectations against Arizona.

Waynes, who was in coverage on Michael Floyd's long touchdown catch, played well outside of this lone blemish. He almost recorded his first career interception in dramatic fashion, but an offside call negated what would have been the biggest defensive play of the night.

Kendricks played an average game in pass coverage, but he put forth a strong effort in run defense. He continues to show improvement every week, making him a Day 2 steal.

As it turns out, Hunter is not too raw of an athlete; he's actually well-equipped to perform at a high level right now. Minnesota's 2015 third-round pick recorded another sack Thursday while playing well in run defense. Similar to Kendricks, he is beginning to look like a Day 2 steal as well.

On the offensive side of the ball, fifth-rounders Stefon Diggs and MyCole Pruitt both contributed to Minnesota's season-best offensive performance. Diggs, whose greatest contribution was keeping Patrick Peterson busy all night, made a pair of catches for 12 receiving yards in total.

Pruitt, who tied his career high with two receptions and set a new personal best with 36 receiving yards, was on the receiving end of Teddy Bridgewater's deepest completion of the day—a 32-yard strike to the left side of the field.

Robinson, Minnesota's seventh-round selection this past April, put together a solid NFL debut. His only contribution to the box score was his first career tackle, but he did a nice job of filling the void at weak-side linebacker in the base defense.

The undisputed star of the rookie symposium, however, was the undrafted Harris. His overall performance in zone coverage was outstanding—especially considering his first snaps as a professional came against an elite offense. Not only did he negate a deep pass completion to John Brown on an amazing diving play, but he excelled as a run stopper as well.

Given the circumstances, Harris certainly earned an encore performance with a chance to usurp Sendejo on the safety depth chart.

"He did all right," Zimmer said of Harris, per the team website. "He's got a lot of things to clean up."

Zimmer, Bridgewater: Moral Victories

Rick Scuteri/Associated Press

Minnesota may have lost on Thursday Night Football, but it certainly did not feel like it after the game. The offense, particularly Teddy Bridgewater, took major strides, and the team received outstanding contributions from a number of rookies who were playing in replacement roles.

However, Bridgewater was quick to point out that there are no such things as moral victories during his postgame press conference, per Vikings.com.

"It was a well-fought game by both teams, and our guys did a great job of just overcoming different circumstances and going out there and competing," he said. "That's what we expect. There are no moral victories in this game, but we have to learn from today and bounce back to be ready for next week."

Generally speaking, I'd agree with Bridgewater's take regarding moral victories. But, the corrections and improvements Minnesota made under dreadful circumstances provide a counterargument.

The Vikings showed lasting character against the Cardinals, and if this game marks an offensive turning point and yields an upgrade at safety opposite Harrison, this loss would carry more weight than many of Minnesota's victories.

Even Mike Zimmer bent a bit on his "no moral victories" stance based on his team's "losing" performance, per the team website:

"

I hope they learned that if we fight and play with a chip on our shoulder, we fight and we give the kind of effort that we did tonight, then we have a chance to be a good football team. I'm hoping that this is a good learning experience for our guys. We lost, I've always said no moral victories, but this is hopefully a good learning experience for us.

"

Moral victory, learning experience—call it whatever you like.

The Vikings significantly improved Thursday, and for a team that is merely scratching the surface of its potential, this is the only thing that matters regarding the future.

Zimmer: 'This Is the Team That We Are'

Ross D. Franklin/Associated Press

Mike Zimmer was in a strange mood during his postgame press conference. He was naturally emotional, as his team was minutes removed from a heartbreaking defeat. But the manner in which he spoke and the thoughts he articulated showed he was internally conflicted regarding the result.

On one end of the spectrum, he appeared devastated by the loss. But on the other, he was proud of his team's effort and pleased with the improvement of his players.

His emotions regarding the loss gave way to his ultimate satisfaction regarding his team's performance in a losing effort.

"This is the team that we are," he said at the postgame press conference. "This is who we have to be."

Zimmer has always preached a winning attitude and consistent improvement. The loss to the Cardinals exemplified both, as Minnesota didn't just play winning football despite a multitude of obstacles but thrived under unfavorable circumstances.

The Vikings lost the game, but they may have won something of much greater importance. This team has taken on the identity of its head coach, collectively becoming physically tough, mentally resilient, tenacious and relentless in its efforts to achieve its goals.

All of these qualities were on display for the nation to see Thursday. Minnesota lost on the scoreboard, but it may have taken the next step toward becoming a champion in the process.

"It's time for us to push," Chad Greenway said, per Vikings.com. "This is winning time. We have a few more opportunities, we got three more, and we feel like we have a good chance of being in."

Statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com, unless otherwise noted.

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