Arizona Cardinals: Josh Rosen faces tough test in Minnesota
By Larry Brake
Josh Rosen faces a tough test as the Arizona Cardinals play the Minnesota Vikings in Week 6.
The Arizona Cardinals hope to win again on the road in Minnesota. After getting their first victory of the 2018 season in San Francisco, they will have to play error free. Rookie quarterback Josh Rosen faces a tough test, perhaps his toughest yet, against the Minnesota Vikings defense.
The Vikings run defense gives up an average of 99.4 yards per game. Expect Minnesota to stack the box with eight, meant to prevent David Johnson from running to daylight. They will want to make Rosen beat them in the passing game.
Last week, Rosen threw 25 passes and completed 10 for 170 yards with one touchdown. According to NFL.com’s Next Gen Stats, Rosen complete the majority of his passes to the left side of the field. He threw just two passes between the hash marks. Eight of his passes were beyond 15 yards of the line of scrimmage.
Kendall Wright was added to bolster the Cardinals receiving corps. This is a welcomed addition since Larry Fitzgerald is nursing an injury. He is listed on the injury report with a hamstring and back issue.
The Cardinals defense will have pressure Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins. Opposing defenses have sacked him 14 times this season. Cousins has very good receivers that Arizona can not allow to run free.
Most of all, the Redbirds have to win the battle in the trenches. Rosen will need time to throw downfield on a consistent basis. Perhaps he and Christian Kirk will be able to connect on another deep route.
The Cardinals will need to score early and often to silence the home crowd. This will be the 26th overall meeting between these two proud franchises. The Cardinals last victory in Minnesota was Nov. 6, 1977. It’s time to win again in Minnesota.
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The Vikings will be the biggest test, to date, for Rosen. He must be efficient with the ball and make good decisions in his passing targets. Mike McCoy must be creative in his play calling.
If the Cardinals impose their will on both sides of the line of scrimmage, they have an opportunity to make this a close game. If the defense can force turnovers, again, Arizona wins again. But we’ll see if they’re able to make that happen.