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Struggling Vikings host Cardinals on Sunday
By: Zach Cohen - StatFox
Published: 11/18/2016  at  11:26:00 AM
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ARIZONA CARDINALS (4--1)
at MINNESOTA VIKINGS (5-4)

U.S. Bank Stadium– Minneapolis, MN
Kickoff: Sunday, 1:00 p.m. ET
Line: Minnesota -2.5, Total: 40.0

The Vikings will be looking to snap a four-game losing streak when they host the Cardinals on Sunday.

The Cardinals have had a disappointing season, but they are still very much alive in the NFC wild-card race. The Redskins currently own the last spot in the conference, but they are just 5-3-1. That means that a win would go a long way in helping Arizona, but also means that a loss would be absolutely devastating for the team. The Vikings, meanwhile, are also battling for one of those wild-card spots. That fact is actually hard to come to grips with, as Minnesota opened the season at 5-0. The Vikings are ice-cold right now, and they aren’t getting solid play on either side of the ball. If that does not change then this team could find a way to finish under .500, which is almost impossible to do after starting the year the way it did. The last time the Vikings and Cardinals played was Dec. 10, 2015, and Arizona won 23-20 as a 10-point home favorite. Minnesota is, however, an impressive 7-0 SU and 5-2 ATS when hosting the Cardinals since 1992. Another thing favoring the Vikings is the fact that they are 11-2 ATS versus teams averaging 350 or more yards per game with Mike Zimmer as head coach. Arizona also happens to be dealing with some injuries coming into this game, as LB Alex Okafor (Knee) and S Tyrann Mathieu (Shoulder) are listed as questionable for Sunday.

If the Cardinals are going to get over the .500 mark then they will need a big performance from QB Carson Palmer (2,444 yards, 11 TD, 8 INT) on Sunday. Palmer has been miserable on the road this season, throwing for only three touchdowns with five interceptions. That is really bad considering he has thrown for eight touchdowns and only three picks at home. If he can’t find a way to be effective in Minnesota on Sunday then Arizona is not going to win this game. Palmer has, however, played well against the Vikings in his career, as he is 3-1 with seven touchdowns and only one interception against them. One guy that could help Palmer settle in for this game is RB David Johnson (760 yards, 9 TD). If Johnson is running the ball well then Palmer won’t need to do anything crazy for the Cardinals to win this game. Johnson has struggled a bit recently, though, as he has rushed for only 79 yards on 29 carries over the past two weeks. Prior to that, he had rushed for over 100 yards in three straight. Arizona needs him to get back to being his dominant self this weekend. Defensively, if the Cardinals can stop the run then it’s hard to imagine them losing this game. The Vikings aren’t going to win games with Bradford throwing the ball 40 times, which is something they’ve learned in recent weeks.

As previously mentioned, the Vikings are going to need to establish their running game on Sunday. QB Sam Bradford (2,022 yards, 11 TD, 2 INT) had thrown the ball 31 or fewer times in each of the Vikings’ four wins with him under center, but he has thrown at least 37 times in each of the past four games. Minnesota has lost each of those four, and it’s clear that the team will need to find a way to balance out this offense. That means that RBs Jerick McKinnon (241 yards, 1 TD) and Matt Asiata (240 yards, 3 TD) must run the ball well on Sunday. McKinnon is the more likely of the two to break out and help his team win. He is more talented than Asiata by a wide margin, and he has the ability to make defenders miss in the open field. When the Vikings do pass the ball, though, WR Stefon Diggs (61 rec, 710 yards, 2 TD) is Bradford’s favorite target. He had 13 receptions for 164 yards against the Redskins last game, but he’ll have a tougher time going up against CB Patrick Peterson on Sunday. Peterson is one of the best corners in football and Diggs will likely do most of his damage on short timing routes this weekend. Defensively, Minnesota needs its defensive line to get back to its dominant ways of the first five weeks of the season.


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