Vikings-Cardinals Preview, Opponent Q&A: Kyler Murray, Kliff Kingsbury, Score Prediction

We got the Arizona perspective on Sunday's Vikings-Cardinals matchup at U.S. Bank Stadium.

When the 5-1 Vikings take on the 3-4 Cardinals on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium, both teams will be well-rested and ready to go. Minnesota is coming off its bye week, while Arizona had a mini bye after beating the Saints on Thursday Night Football last week.

This is an intriguing matchup against a Cardinals team that's hard to figure out. Kliff Kingsbury's squad has a lot of talent, but they've gone just 7-11 since starting last season 7-0, including a blowout loss to the Rams in the wild card round. With DeAndre Hopkins back in the mix, this has the makings of a close game and a potential shootout in Minneapolis.

To get the inside perspective on the Vikings' upcoming opponent, I posed five questions to Donnie Druin of Fan Nation's AllCardinals.

What's the disappointment level among the fans when it comes to Arizona's 3-4 start? Is Kliff Kingsbury on the hot seat at all?

Disappointing might be understating how Cardinals fans feel. After starting last season 7-0 and making the playoffs, giving Kyler Murray a huge new contract — along with extending Kliff Kingsbury and GM Steve Keim — only escalated expectations. The Cardinals have failed to do many things thus far, but Arizona has yet to play complementary football at any point this season. When you look across not only the NFC West but the entire conference, even a remotely acceptable start would have the Cardinals in playoff position nearly halfway through the season, and I think that also factors into the frustrations. Patience has worn thin with everybody involved considering how the Cardinals played last season and the talent on the roster.

As far as Kingsbury goes, this is probably the most debated question on the AZ sports scene. On one side of the coin, you have Kingsbury's track record of losing on both the college and professional level. He's yet to earn his stripes as a head coach and success hasn't exactly been associated with him. On the other side, you can point to the Cardinals progressively getting better after each season under his guidance (a franchise QB helps too) and plentiful injuries/Hopkins' suspension to begin the year has not helped at all.

The general feeling around the facility is Kingsbury would have to drastically coach this team to the depth of the league (we're talking like 4-13, 5-12) in order to get fired. Team owner Michael Bidwill has shown patience during this process and perhaps might feel firing Kingsbury not even a full year after handing him an extension might be a knee-jerk reaction.

Is it a fair excuse to say injuries (Marquise Brown, James Conner, interior O-line) and the DeAndre Hopkins suspension have really hurt the Cardinals' offense, or do Kingsbury and Kyler Murray deserve plenty of blame too?

The injuries are somewhat valid. The Cardinals, already missing one of the best receivers in the league in Hopkins, have seen injuries practically everywhere on both sides of the ball. They were probably a week or two away from calling me to play cornerback for them. Arizona has had 10+ players on their opening injury report each week to begin the season, so you have to at least acknowledge the Cardinals have not been at full strength. 

However, the problems ultimately boil down to Kyler Murray and Kliff Kingsbury. Arizona still has yet to score a touchdown in the first quarter of a game this season, as each game has presented slow start after slow start. Kingsbury says it's execution, but is it not weird that Arizona's offense moves better after the initial 10-15 plays of scripting? Kingsbury's play-calling, time management, and everything else an offensive mastermind is supposed to thrive in has been well under par this year. Murray isn't exempt from criticism either, as his mistakes and inability to find open receivers has hurt the offense too. However, Arizona has weapons across the board (even with injuries) and Kingsbury simply has not been good in putting his offense in positions to succeed.

What's been the biggest issue for the Cardinals' defense this season?

Oddly enough, the defense has been the strength of this Cardinals team since the second half of the Las Vegas win in Week 2. Zach Allen has emerged as a nice piece next to J.J. Watt, Byron Murphy Jr. is playing very well as a CB1 and Isaiah Simmons has rebounded after a rough outing vs. Travis Kelce in Week 1. Despite Murphy's play, the pass defense ranks No. 25 in the league in terms of yards allowed per game, and Arizona is tied for No. 27 in sacks with 11 (although Vance Joseph was adamant he does not care about sack numbers). Cornerback depth has been the ultimate downfall through the first half of the season, as No. 2 receivers have somewhat thrived against the Cardinals.

Who is one unheralded player on each side of the ball that Vikings fans should be aware of heading into this game?

I already mentioned his name, but DL Zach Allen has a real candidacy to be Arizona's best defensive player thus far despite household names playing with him. Allen is tied with safety Jalen Thompson for the team lead in tipped passes (6) while being just one of three Cardinals (Watt and Zaven Collins the others) to have two or more sacks this season. He also leads Arizona in QB hits (9) and TFL (5).

On the offensive side of the ball, I have to point in the direction of RB Eno Benjamin. He's made a real case for more touches in the absence of James Conner, averaging 4.6 yards per carry while reaching the end zone twice in his new opportunity as Arizona's RB1. His versatility as a pass-catching back also makes him more valuable, and even if Conner suits up, Benjamin provides a nice change of pace for Arizona to rely on in the rushing attack.

What's your prediction for this game — and why?

Frankly put, I don't know how the Vikings are only 3.5-point favorites. The Cardinals are a much better team with DeAndre Hopkins, but their sole wins this season have been: 1. A miracle 20-point comeback in Las Vegas 2. Edging out a Panthers team who later fired their head coach, and 3. Beating the Saints without some of their top weapons, at home, by eight points, after having back-to-back interceptions returned for touchdowns. The Vikings are the superior team in this matchup, and while I think the Cardinals won't get blown out by any means, Minnesota is far better coached and prepared on a weekly basis. I'm willing to bet against the Cardinals until they prove me right, and there's a reason Minnesota has just one loss to their name thus far.

Vikings 28, Cardinals 20.

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