Early Look: Vikings Favored Against Cardinals at Home in Week 8

Can the Vikings come off their bye week and win a fifth straight game?

Fresh off of a brief reset during their Week 7 bye, the 5-1 Vikings will be back in the normal swing of things at TCO Performance Center this week as they look to stay hot and keep piling up wins. The players got some rest, the coaches and front office did plenty of self-scouting, and now all eyes are focused on their return to game action at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday.

"Hopefully we can stay one step ahead," head coach Kevin O'Connell said last week.

Traveling to Minneapolis this weekend is a 3-4 Arizona Cardinals team coming off a much-needed 42-34 win over the Saints on Thursday. Suddenly, Kliff Kingsbury's team looks a bit more dangerous than it did for much of the first six weeks of the season. This line opened with the Vikings favored by as many as 6.5 points, but as of Monday morning, it's down to 3.5. The 49-point total is the second-highest of Week 8 (behind only Dolphins-Lions), meaning this game has shootout potential.

A 19-9 loss to the Seahawks in Week 6 dropped the Cardinals to 2-4. It was the third time in the past four weeks that they had scored 17 points or fewer, and six of their points against Seattle were actually scored by Arizona's defense. Kyler Murray ran for 100 yards, but he was sacked six times and threw his fourth interception of the season. Things were looking dire.

Thursday's game against New Orleans was an encouraging bounce-back effort from the Cardinals, even if some defensive issues persisted. Two pick-sixes in the final two minutes of the first half helped them pull away, and a pair of offensive touchdowns in the second half were enough for Arizona to hold on. The Saints racked up nearly 500 yards of offense, but part of that was due to the Cardinals being in front for the entire second half.

Offensively, the big news for the Cardinals was the return of DeAndre Hopkins from a six-game PED suspension. Hopkins immediately returned to his role as Murray's No. 1 target and looked excellent; he was targeted on 14 of Murray's 29 pass attempts, catching ten of them for 103 yards. Even at 30 years old, the five-time All-Pro is a massively dangerous receiver and might have actually benefited from the additional time off. 

Hopkins will be a major issue for the Vikings' defense this week. Interestingly, he ran nearly half of his routes from the slot on Thursday, despite being almost exclusively an outside receiver for his entire career. That could continue against the Vikings, especially given the struggles of slot cornerback Chandon Sullivan.

There are still plenty of question marks on this Cardinals offense, which ranks 26th in DVOA, 18th in EPA per play, and 22nd in success rate. Murray has struggled as a passer, ranking near the bottom of the league in yards per attempt, passer rating, and numerous advanced metrics. There has been some tension between him and Kingsbury this season, including a heated sideline exchange on Thursday.

The interior offensive line, which is down two starters, is exploitable. The Cardinals traded for Robbie Anderson to replace the injured Marquise Brown as their vertical threat at receiver, but that's a notable downgrade. Outside of Hopkins, third-string RB Eno Benjamin, and TE Zach Ertz, no one else had more than two targets against the Saints. It'll be interesting to see if James Conner or Darrel Williams can return from injury this week, or if Benjamin will be the lead back once again.

Defensively, the Cardinals rank 20th in DVOA, 18th in EPA per play, 30th in success rate, and 27th in points allowed. They've been excellent against the run but quite poor against the pass. The defensive line features three players with at least 16 pressures — Zach Allen, Markus Golden, and J.J. Watt — but the cornerback trio of Byron Murphy Jr., Marco Wilson, and Antonio Hamilton is a weakness.

This is another very winnable game for the Vikings, who will be well-rested off of the bye and playing at home. But it won't be easy. The Cardinals, who beat the Vikings in Week 2 last year, also have some extra rest after playing on Thursday. Murray is extremely dangerous with his legs and might start to heat up as a passer with Hopkins back. In theory, Ertz, Anderson, and Rondale Moore are solid secondary weapons in the passing game. Arizona's defensive front will present some challenges for the Vikings, as well.

This should be a very interesting test for O'Connell's team. Coming off the bye, we'll get to see what kind of adjustments the Vikings make from the first six games and whether or not they can continue to find ways to keep this winning streak alive.

There are some fun revenge game storylines here, with Peterson facing his old team for the second consecutive year and Jordan Hicks going against the team he spent the last three seasons with.

Kickoff is at 12 p.m. central time on Sunday in Minneapolis. Look for plenty more preview content at Inside The Vikings throughout the week.

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