Vikings Continue Streak with Home Victory over Cardinals

The Minnesota Vikings found the winning column for the fifth game in a row this week with a victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

Final: Arizona Cardinals 26 Minnesota Vikings 34

Minnesota:
QB:
K. Cousins 24/36 232 yds 6.4 avg 2 TD 3 sacks 103.0 rtg (4 car 22 yds 1 TD)

RB:
D. Cook 20 car 111 yds 5.6 avg 1 TD 30 long (5 rec 30 yds)
A. Mattison 5 car 40 yds 8.0 avg 1 TD 15 long

WR:
J. Jefferson 6 rec 98 yds 16.3 avg 29 long
A. Thielen 6 rec 67 yds 11.2 avg 18 long
I. Smith Jr 4 rec 28 yds 7.0 avg 11 long
KJ Osborn 2 rec 8 yds 4.0 avg 1 TD 5 long
J. Mundt 1 rec 1 yd 1.0 avg 1 TD 1 long

DEF:
Z. Smith 3 sacks
H. Philips 1 sack
H. Smith 1 INT
C. Bynum 1 INT
T. Dye 1 fumble recovery

K:
G. Joseph 0/1 FG 4/5 XP

Game Summary:
Minnesota started off the game on a roll, Kirk Cousins ran the ball in for the first touchdown of the day. The Vikings continued rolling on their next drive when they punched in another touchdown, this time Johnny Mundt's first NFL touchdown! After that Arizona was able to go down and kick a field goal. 
Before halftime, teams traded punts for a while and then Arizona managed their first touchdown of the day. 
In the third quarter, the Vikings managed to score two touchdowns, one by Dalvin Cook and one by Alexander Mattison. Minnesota also attempted a 56-yard field goal that was blocked by Arizona. In the same quarter, Arizona scored twice but failed to convert the two point conversion on the second one. In the fourth quarter the Vikings did score a touchdown to increase the lead, with a pass from Cousins to KJ Osborn. However, Greg Joseph missed the extra point. The Cardinals found mostly nothing in the 4th quarter but managed a close field goal. Minnesota's defense closed out the day with two sacks to force the game to end.

Overall the Vikings played well today. While they made some mistakes they were able to recover from them. The defense played very well in key moments, which will be useful down the line.

Playoff Update
It is still so early to talk about playoffs, but I figured I would note where exactly the Vikings fit in the playoff picture at the moment.
1. Philadelphia (7-0)
2. Minnesota (6-1)
3. Seattle (4-3)
4. Atlanta (4-4)
5. New York Giants (6-1)
6. Dallas Cowboys (6-2)
7. Los Angeles Rams (3-3)
First three teams out:
San Francisco (3-4)
Washington (3-4)
Green Bay (3-4)
Minnesota is 6-1 and currently sports a 3-0 division record. Right now, the Vikings hold a 2+ game lead in the NFC North. Also, given that the Vikings are the only non-NFC East team to own a record above 4-3, they own a multi-game lead above the rest of the NFC, at the time of this writing.

Injury Report
WR Adam Thielen breifly left the game in the 3rd quarter with an apparent knee injury but returned a few plays later.
DE Za'Darius Smith also left the game momentarily in the 4th quarter with a knee injury but returned on the next defensive drive.

Up Next
The Vikings will hit the road again as they travel to Washington to face the Commanders next Sunday, November 6th at 12 PM CT.

#SKOL