Arizona Cardinals Drop 3rd Straight To The Minnesota Vikings 21-14

Oct 21, 2012; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (11) talks with Minnesota Vikings defensive end Jared Allen (69) following the game at the Metrodome. The Vikings defeated the Cardinals 21-14. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-US PRESSWIRE

Remember when an ACL injury was a career ending type of injury? Well, looking at Adrian Peterson, you would think that it was just a knee strain, as he completely controlled the usually dominating Arizona Cardinals defense. In an odd flip of offensive production, Peterson rushed 23 times for 153 yards and a touchdown, while Christian Ponder completed only 8 of 17 passes for 58 yards. Luckily the Arizona Cardinals help the Vikings put points on the scoring throwing a pick-6 to Harrison Smith to start off the third quarter, which would end up being the final dagger for the Cardinals.

The offensive line continues to be the downfall of an Arizona squad that started off with four straight wins. John Skelton, starting his first game since re-replacing his replacement Kevin Kolb, had a decent game passing, completing 25 of 36 passes for 262 yards and a touchdown. However, the offensive line gave up 7 or more tackles for the third time in four games.  They completely controlled the time of possession with a nearly 35-25 minute split, and put up 356 total yards including 100+ on the ground. However, he pressure clearly got to the quarterback, failed to put points on the board in 12 out of 14 of the offensive drives. Here is a summary of those drives: Punt, Fumble, Touchdown, Punt, Punt, Interception, Turnover on Downs, Punt, Punt, Punt, Turnover on Downs, Touchdown. Nothing else needs to be said…

Next week the Cardinals take on the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football, their second primetime game this season. The 49ers are hot off of their first divisonal win over the Seattle Seahawks, and will look to move to 2-0 in the NFC West. Lucky for the Arizona Cardinals, the San Francisco 49ers are not really known for their pass rushing abilities, ranking in the bottom half of the league in total sacks. Still, the Cardinals will need to find a way to put points on the board if they hope to stop their three game losing skid.