To Kill a Cardinal

The Vikings pulled off an empowering win against the Philadelphia Eagles last week, but now they must shift their focus to a new foe.

Minnesota returns home Sunday to take on the Arizona Cardinals. The Cardinals have had a rough start to their season, having already benched former Minnesota starter Sam Bradford in favor of rookie Josh Rosen. Head coach Mike Zimmer probably would have preferred to play against “Sammy Sleeves” since he was a known commodity in Minnesota, but now the defensive mastermind will need to craft a game plan catered to the rookie.

Arizona was winless with Bradford at the helm, but Rosen found his first win last week against the 49ers and hopes to bring his one-win team back into contention. Josh may not have much experience in the NFL, but the first-round pick is certainly talented. Rosen was regarded as the “purest passer” in this year’s draft, and he has talented receivers like Larry Fitzgerald to throw to.

If the Vikings want to beat Arizona, they’ll need to fluster Rosen’s feathers and cover his pass catchers. Fortunately for Minnesota, speedy cornerback Trae Waynes will be back from his concussion, and he should be stride for stride with Josh’s receivers. Opposite of Waynes, pro-bowl corner Xavier Rhodes will look to shutdown Larry’s routes and deny the Cardinals of safe landing in the endzone.

Since U.S. Bank Stadium was built in 2016, the glass structure has killed many birds. Hopefully the venue can kill 53 more cardinals on Sunday…

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