Arizona Cardinals vs Minnesota Vikings box score, match player stats and summary feat. Kyler Murray, Justin Jefferson
The NFC West is shaping up to be a pretty tight race as we approach the business end of the season. With six wins entering this Week 13 showdown against the Minnesota Vikings, Sportskeeda's algorithm puts the Cardinals' playoff chances at a cool 77% but a loss to the nine-win Minnesota Vikings could put a pretty big dent in that number.
The Cardinals kicked things off with a 23-yard field goal to put the game's first points on the board. The Vikings responded with a field goal of their own to pull themselves even.
Little else happened in the first half of the game apart from another field goal for the Cardinals. Despite having Justin Jefferson wide open a couple of times, Sam Darnold chose to go another route, utilizing the likes of Jordan Addison and Johnny Mundt instead.
You'd be forgiven if you were to ask the question is Justin Jefferson playing today? The Vikings offense stalled on a number of drives but they stopped short of turning to Jefferson until late in the second half where he had two catches for 32 yards.
The Cardinals talked about getting Marvin Harrison Jr. more involved in this game but he had just one catch for 14 yards at the half. Kicker Chad Ryland converted his third one of the afternoon to put the Cardinals up by three heading into the break.
Arizona Cardinals vs Minnesota Vikings box score
With four minutes to go in the third quarter, the Cardinals registered the game’s first touchdown off Kyler Murray’s throw to Marvin Harrison Jr. That was the rookie wideout’s seventh touchdown of the season, leading all rookie receivers. The score also meant that the Cardinals snapped an 0-and-6 streak of failing to convert on red zone attempts. This was the Cardinals’ first touchdown in seven quarters of football.
Sam Darnold managed to respond immediately after the Cardinals’ score, finding Johnny Mundt to cut the deficit down to 19-13. They had a chance to go ahead but Aaron Jones’ dropped pass meant they had to reset. Jones had a rough afternoon overall with two fumbles early on. The former Packer managed to redeem himself with under a minute to go with a 5-yard touchdown. Parker Romo converted the extra point to hand the Vikings the lead.
That was that as the Cardinals failed to make it count with a stalled drive as the game ended 23-22 in Minnesota's favor. This was Sam Darnold's biggest comeback win of his career, handing the Vikings their 10th win of the season with a spot in the playoffs all but secured.
For the Cardinals, matters are a little more complicated. The loss means the Niners still have a mathematical shot at playing meaningful football in January, slim as that shot may be.
Arizona Cardinals vs Minnesota Vikings match player stats
For the Cardinals, Mack Wilson Sr and L.J. Collier had two sacks each while Kyzir White also registered a lone sack. On the Vikings' side, Byron Murphy Jr and Shaq Griffin had one interception each.