As the Minnesota Vikings host the Arizona Cardinals in an early Sunday game, each team will be looking to improve their respective records to 5-2 and make a jump within their divisions. For the Cardinals, they have lost their past two games and beating the Vikings would provide a huge rebound and boost of confidence. Unfortunately, Arizona does not fare too well when traveling to Minnesota. Dealing with the almost deafening noise is something the Cards will have to overcome.
Another thing they will have to overcome is the shakiness of their offensive line. Both tackles in D'Anthony Batiste and Bobby Massie will have their hands full with premiere edge rusher Jared Allen as well his very talented teammate, Bryan Robison. We have seen the Cardinals shut Allen down in the past (with Jeremy Bridges), but can they manage to do so again? It will be interesting to see if they provide additional help to keep Allen off of John Skelton's back.
Speaking of Skelton, how will he perform? He did not look too sharp last week, throwing 2/10 against the Bills when he entered the game, but hopefully he has shaken off some of the rust. Finding Larry Fitzgerald will be key, but he will only be able to accomplish that if he can stay upright.
On the flip side, can the Cardinals stop Christian Ponder without committing too many players to protect against the pass? If they do that, that will open the field far too much for Adrian Peterson, a player everyone knows can get it done. Stopping him will be huge for the Cardinals if they want to win this game.
Lastly, the one-on-one matchup between Patrick Peterson and Percy Harvin should be a fun one to watch. Whoever gets the best of who may indicate which team will win the game, as both of these players are such huge playmakers for their teams.
What are the things you will be watching in this game? Tell us in the comments section below.
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