Vikings-Cardinals Capsule

By foxsports
Published

MINNESOTA (8-4) At ARIZONA (10-2)

Thursday, 8:30 p.m. ET, NFL Network

OPENING LINE - Cardinals by 6 1/2

RECORD VS. SPREAD - Vikings 9-3, Cardinals 7-5

SERIES RECORD - Vikings lead 15-10

LAST MEETING - Vikings beat Cardinals 21-14, Oct. 21, 2012

LAST WEEK - Vikings lost to Seahawks 38-7; Cardinals beat Rams 27-3

AP PRO32 RANKING - Vikings No. 10, Cardinals No. 2

VIKINGS OFFENSE - OVERALL (30), RUSH (5), PASS (31)

VIKINGS DEFENSE - OVERALL (15), RUSH (22), PASS (6)

CARDINALS OFFENSE - OVERALL (1), RUSH (8), PASS (3)

CARDINALS DEFENSE - OVERALL (4), RUSH (4), PASS (8)

STREAKS, STATS AND NOTES - Cardinals WR Larry Fitzgerald was Vikings ball boy. ... Minnesota coach Mike Zimmer was defensive coordinator for Cincinnati when Arizona's Carson Palmer was Bengals QB. ... Vikings are fourth in NFL in yards per carry (4.75). Adrian Peterson still leads NFL in rushing (1,182 yards) despite gaining 9 yards on eight carries against Seahawks. ... 31-point rout by Seattle was Minnesota's worst home loss in 31 years. ... Vikings have won four consecutive road games for first time since 1998. ... Minnesota has declared three of its best defensive players out for Thursday night's game due to injuries: LB Anthony Barr, DT Linval Joseph and S Harrison Smith. ... Only Carolina (12-0) has better record than Arizona's 10-2. ... Palmer is one TD pass shy of Kurt Warner's single-season Cardinals franchise record of 30. ... Arizona has won at least 10 games in all three seasons under coach Bruce Arians, only second time Cardinals have achieved that feat (1974-76 under Don Coryell) ... Cardinals are only team in top five in NFL offense and defense rankings. ... Cardinals lead NFL in points (382), touchdowns (45) and touchdown differential (plus-25). ... 16 players have scored touchdown for Arizona. ... Cardinals' six-game win streak is franchise's longest since 1974. ... Cardinals have more plays of 20-plus yards (65) than any team. ... Arizona is 23-4 in Palmer's last 27 starts. Fantasy Tip: Cardinals rookie RB David Johnson leads team in touchdowns (9): four rushing, four passing, one kickoff return. He rushed for 99 yards and caught 10-yard TD pass last week against Rams.

---

AP NFL website: www.pro32.ap.org and www.twitter.com/AP-NFL