Arizona Cardinals kicker Chandler Catanzaro (No 7) kicks a field goal in the fourth quarter against the Minnesota Vikings at University of Phoenix Stadium. PICTURE: USA TODAY
By Matt Vensel/Star Tribune
On Thursday night, the short-handed Vikings found themselves in another showcase game, this time against the first-place Arizona Cardinals.
Prime time was not kind to them in their season opener, when they got steamrollered by the San Francisco 49ers on “Monday Night Football.” And they played poorly in high-profile, nationally televised, late-afternoon losses to Green Bay and Seattle.
But this time, the Vikings did not wilt in the spotlight. They went into halftime with the score tied at 10-10 and threatened to take a third-quarter lead when running back Adrian Peterson fumbled in Cardinals territory. In the end, though, the Cardinals’ offensive firepower and one decisive fourth-quarter drive resulted in a 47-yard field goal by Chandler Catanzaro with 1 minute, 23 seconds remaining to give Arizona a 23-20 victory at University of Phoenix Stadium.
The Vikings looked poised to tie the game late. But Teddy Bridgewater was sacked from behind on third down deep in Cardinals territory with just seconds remaining by Dwight Freeney. Bridgewater fumbled, and the game was over.
Cardinals quarterback Carson Palmer threw for 310 yards and tossed two touchdowns by late in the fourth quarter against an undermanned and overmatched Vikings defense.
Injuries forced the Vikings to start four rookies against the league’s top-ranked offense and they moved veteran cornerback Terence Newman to safety to start in place of Harrison Smith, who missed his second game in three weeks.
They were also missing nose tackle Linval Joseph and outside linebacker Anthony Barr.
Palmer completed his first eight pass attempts for 54 yards on the game’s opening drive, including a 19-yard catch by Michael Floyd and a 17-yarder by fellow wideout Larry Fitzgerald Jr. But the Cardinals had to settle for a 27-yard Chandler Catanzaro field goal after their rookie running back, David Johnson, dropped a would-be touchdown on third down.
The Vikings responded right away with a seven-play, 80-yard touchdown drive. Peterson slalomed through the Cardinals defense for a 9-yard touchdown run to finish off the drive. He also had a 21-yard run earlier in the drive, gaining 3 more yards on that play than he did in Sunday’s 38-7 drubbing against the Seahawks.
After grumbling about the offensive play-calling after rushing for a season-low 18 yards against the Seahawks, Peterson had 69 yards on 23 carries late in the fourth quarter.
The Cardinals reclaimed the lead with a 65-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver John Brown. Palmer shuffled around in the pocket to buy time for Brown to get open on a deep crossing route. Brown pulled away from cornerback Captain Munnerlyn, caught the pass then sprinted down the right sideline for the go-ahead score.
Still trailing 10-7 late in the second quarter, quarterback Bridgewater completed a 32-yard pass to rookie tight end MyCole Pruitt to put kicker Blair Walsh in position to boot a game-tying field goal from 44 yards just before halftime.
But the Vikings lost two fumbles in Cardinals territory. Wide receiver Jarius Wright gave the ball away in the red zone in the second quarter and Peterson coughed up another fumble in the third. Peterson has fumbled seven times this season.
After Peterson’s latest fumble killed a promising drive, the Cardinals went ahead for good. Palmer tossed a quick pass out to Floyd, who got a key block by Fitzgerald and went untouched down the right sideline for a 42-yard score that made it 17-10.
On Arizona’s next drive, cornerback Xavier Rhodes dropped a would-be interception that he likely would have returned for a touchdown. The Cardinals would keep on driving downfield to go up 20-10 with a field goal early in the fourth quarter.
Walsh booted a 54-yard field goal with 12:15 remaining in the game to cut the Cardinals’ lead to 20-13, then the Vikings tied the score again with an impressive 11-play, 88-yard drive that ended with a 7-yard touchdown pass from Bridgewater to underutilized wide receiver Mike Wallace before the Cardinals countered.