What Went Right, Wrong in Cardinals' Devastating Loss to Vikings

There were some encouraging signs despite the Arizona Cardinals mismanaging a game they couldn't afford to lose.

Dec 1, 2024; Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA; Arizona Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray (1) passes against the Minnesota Vikings in the first quarter at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brad Rempel-Imagn Images / Brad Rempel-Imagn Images

The Arizona Cardinals had every opportunity to win Sunday's game, particularly when looking at a 19-6 lead. Poor execution, bad situational management and a lack of urgency saw it turn into a crippling 23-22 loss.

Granted, there were some things to be encouraged by, even when it doesn't feel like it. We'll dive into what went wrong, but also what went right.

What Went Right

TE Trey McBride

Trey McBride was the definition of a weapon in Sunday's game. He hauled in 12 passes for 96 yards, after putting up a similarly brilliant game last week. It just felt like McBride was open on every play, and made a handful of clutch receptions and runs after the catch.

No doubt about it, Arizona's pass game runs through McBride, for now.

WR Marvin Harrison Jr.

Five receptions, 60 yards and a beautiful touchdown. Harrison once again showed flashes of potential, and he leads all rookie wide receivers in touchdowns with his seventh of the season,

Now this comes with a caveat: he was targeted 12 times. A few poor routes by the rookie, a few bad balls from Murray. The connection is still not there.

There's plenty of blame to go around, but he needs to be developed while also getting easy touches and opportunities to make plays in space. The box score was a positive, but it still didn't feel natural.

The Defense

Defensive Coordinator Nick Rallis' squad was excellent. Sure, they blew a fourth down to ice the game, but it's not like they should have been in that position.

They failed to execute when needed most, but they still had a brilliant first half terrorized Sam Darnold, and did their best to keep Jordan Addison and Justin Jefferson down as long as they could.

Arizona hit Darnold eight times from a variety of creative fronts, took him down five times, forced two fumbles and recovered one. They held the Vikings to just 273 yards, and forced four field goal attempts.

The Run Game

The Cardinals did run the ball well. It may not have been James Conner's most eye-popping day, but the newly-extended steamrolling back still played well, picking up 68 yards on the ground, good for four yards a carry.

The Cardinals' run game as a whole was quite successful. Murray was a big part of it, with 48 yards on just seven carries. As a team, Arizona rushed for 151 yards at a five-yards-per-carry clip. If one were to see that number, you might assume they dominated the game and took home a victory.

That (in a vacuum) is a good sign, but also indicates that this offense could be getting one-dimensional, and needs a bit of an adjustment in the passing department. Still, they ran the ball well after a game in Seattle where they struggled to do so. The run game certainly isn't broken.

What Went Wrong

QB Kyler Murray

Don't get me wrong, Murray was quite efficient for most of the game, and made a decent amount of very solid throws, with almost 50 yards on the ground to add to it.

But when it came down to clutch situations - tough third downs, a potential game-winning drive - Murray looked lost, twitchy and reactive. He forced too many passes to Harrison that never had a chance, threw an exceptionally poor interception on third down with a 19-13 lead, and eventually sealed the game with his second pick.

It was the first two-interception game of the season for Murray.

He's been playing well, and today's performance certainly didn't look like the worst quarterback day of the year, but he didn't come through in big moments against a good defense, and he'll need to get back to his calm, deadly-accurate ways. He's proven he's matured this season, but Sunday's game showed a different side.

Situational Decisions

Sunday might have been head coach Jonathan Gannon's poorest showing from a game management perspective.

He elected to punt on fourth and short twice, didn't consider going for two to make the score 20-6 (the ultimate point difference in the game), settled for five field goal attempts and didn't go for the touchdown to seal the game late in the fourth.

As I've already written, it's irresponsible to look at these decisions based on their result alone, and it's not Gannon's fault Arizona couldn't execute, but when facing an opponent as good as Minnesota, some more consideration of aggression is warranted.

Simply put, Arizona played not to lose, and that won't win games. It's not all on Gannon, but his decisions didn't help the Cardinals on Sunday.

Self-inflicted Wounds

The Cardinals came into Sunday as the least penalized team in the NFL. That's been a breath of fresh air in the Gannon era, and a huge factor in their success this season.

On Sunday, they got away from clean play. Sure, some penalties were a bit ticky-tack, but those poor calls were going both ways.

Arizona was penalized 10 times for 96 yards, and their lack of red zone success was nearly a direct result. Tight end Tip Reiman committed three false starts and a holding penalty, and Arizona wasted two red zone drives as a result.

Pre-snap penalties need to be pared down. In tough road environments, that' a sign of being unprepared. If the Cardinals want to contend, they'll have to fight through those environments without hurting themselves.