Minnesota Vikings must step up against Cardinals

The Minnesota Vikings were put down by the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13 and must rebound to keep their playoff hopes alive.

In control of their destiny, the Minnesota Vikings saw their dreams become tougher to reach with a demoralizing 38-7 loss at the hands of the Seattle Seahawks.

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It’s the kind of defeat that you don’t even want to remember because it mars an otherwise beautiful season.

Falling to 8-4, the Vikings find themselves tied with the Green Bay Packers for the NFC North lead and will have to prove themselves over the final four weeks of the season in order to slip into the playoffs. The Seahawks put a damper on the big purple and gold hullabaloo that was building, but with key wins against the four opponents, the Vikes will enter the postseason with plenty of fanfare.

Stepping up against the Arizona Cardinals will be the next step.

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The Cards are 10-2 and own first place in the NFC West. They will surely ride into the playoffs behind the resurgent arm of Carson Palmer and the dominating play of their defense.

This Week 14 Thursday Night Football game will take place in Arizona and there would be nothing sweeter for the Minnesota Vikings than to walk into the Cardinals’ house and simply throw down a gauntlet to the NFL, declaring themselves to be true contenders and the Seahawks game to be nothing more than a fluke.

The Vikings may not look like they can beat the Cardinals, who boast the league’s best offense and the fourth best defense. It may not seem like the kind of game that could become a statement win.

But this is playoff football for the Vikings already. They are keeping the Packers at bay on one side and fighting to prove they really have arrived and can hang with the “big boys” on the other. If the season ended today, they would get in on a wild card.

Taking out the Cardinals would be like going up to the biggest kid on the playground and laying him out with a punch. It sends a message.

Make no mistake, the Vikings will struggle to win this game. The Cardinals have lost two against the then-surging St. Louis Rams and the impressive Pittsburgh Steelers. To win this game will be no easy task.

The Minnesota defense will likely be missing defensive tackle Linval Joseph, linebacker Anthony Barr, and safety Harrison Smith for this game. They are all defensive studs. The team will have to play some keepaway with the running game if they want to be eke out a win in this one.

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The Cardinals are a nine-point favorite according to Oddshark. Can the Vikings step up and bring home a tough road victory?