Before we dive into this game and as we wrap up Thanksgiving week I just want to say thank you to all our viewers and readers for your support and for consistently coming back! I love bringing you sports content and your views and downloads mean the world! Alright, enough gushy stuff. Let’s talk some football.
Week 13 and Thanksgiving day football signals the time of the season when things get serious. At this point of the season we know who is for real and who are pretenders, and this matchup today between the Cardinals and the Vikings bring together two of the realest teams in the league. Coming into this year the question marks surrounding both of these teams were inevitable. Minnesota had lost their rookie, first-round draft pick quarterback J.J. McCarthy to a season ending knee injury, and had to turn to Sam Darnold whose career was stunted by an unsuccessful stint with the Jets and had never truly blossomed. On the flip side, the Cardinals were expected to have flashes of excitement but never really pose a true threat.
The Vikings currently sit at 9-2 and second in the NFC North, which is far and away the most competitive division in the league. The Cardinals, a less impressive 6-5, are first in the NFC West in maybe the most confusing division in football. But both teams sit comfortably in terms of playoff seeding, shows how much the “experts” know.
Because of how competitive the NFC North is, the Vikings essentially need to win out if they want a chance at winning the division. The first place Lions have been playing the best football in the league by a sizeable margin so the Vikings should assume that Detroit will finish the season strong as try to protect their lead, but neither team has an easy road ahead.
In order, the Lions finish the season with the Packers, Bills, Bears, 49ers and the Vikings. All of these teams (Bears are on the edge) are either playoff locks or are still in the mix and playing with a purpose. Detroit could win out, but you would have to believe that even the Lions might drop one in that gauntlet of games. The Vikings don’t have it much easier, either. They close with the Cardinals, Falcons, Bears, Seahawks, Packers and Lions. Again, pretty much all contenders. In terms of who has the easier path to the end of the season, I would have to probably say the Vikings win that battle. But the Lions are playing better football and currently hold the head-to-head with Minnesota.
I don’t want to get off to far on that tangent, but you get the idea. This game begins a crucial final stretch for Minnesota as they make a push for the division title. Vikings need to keep winning games and let the Lions schedule play out as it may. How do the Vikings continue that today? There is one player in particular that has been a huge part of the passing game’s success recently, and it’s not Justin Jefferson. If Jordan Addison continues the tear he has been on the past few weeks Minnesota will be very hard to stop. Addison had 8 catches for 162 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings 30-27 win over the Bears last week, that touchdown making it his third in the last four weeks. Addison has become such a crucial part of the Vikings offense because of how much focus Justin Jefferson commands. When you have a star receiver the caliber of Justin Jefferson, it is equally as important to have a number-two receiver that can expose the weaker side of a defense. Addison’s outbreak last week makes me believe he will command a higher level attention this week, and in turn makes me think Jefferson will have a huge week receiving.
The Vikings defense’s key to success will be doing its best to maintain Kyler Murray and try to avoid his legs extending drives. For what Murray lacks in height he makes up for with his speed and creativity. Murray can make plays happen in a flash, but the Vikings defense
