Trampled again
Minnesota Vikings safety Jayron Kearse celebrates during the third quarter against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis on Sunday. Behind him is Arizona Cardinals running back David Johnson.
For a recap of the game, see
MINNEAPOLIS – What began as a light snowfall outside U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday turned into a purple blizzard inside for the Cardinals. When they weren’t burying themselves because of their inept offense, their defense was getting constantly overwhelmed by the Vikings like a never-ending avalanche.
Normally, a 27-17 loss doesn’t feel like a wipeout.
This one did. And the Cardinals could feel the effects from it for the next several days. There are so many things continuing to go wrong with this team, it seems as though they’re trapped under a mountain of hurt.
Not only are the fans calling for the head of offensive coordinator Mike McCoy, with just as many questioning Steve Wilks’ capabilities as head coach, but the Cardinals lost two starters on their already banged-up offensive line as guards Mike Iupati (back) and Justin Pugh (hand) were forced out of Sunday’s game and did not return.
As bad as their 1-5 start is, things might only get worse in four more days as, on a short week, the Cardinals now have to turn around and play the Broncos on Thursday night at State Farm Stadium. With the same problems happening on offense, defense and special teams, it seems very unlikely they’ll be able to fix themselves by then.
“You hope you can change quickly, but that’s all you can do is just keep working at it,” said a dejected Larry Fitzgerald, who might have played his last NFL game in his home state of Minnesota. “It’s not like we’re not putting in the effort and time and film studying and things of that nature. But you definitely hope it can be fixed.”
How bad was it this time?
The Cardinals were 0 for 10 on third down. For the sixth straight game, their offense failed to generate at least 300 yards, although Sunday’s total of 269 was their highest total yet. They still haven’t been able to run for more than 100 yards, as David Johnson was held to 55 on 18 carries with one touchdown. Josh Rosen was sacked four times, harassed countless others, and failed to throw a touchdown pass.
He also led a drive that stalled at the Vikings’ 1-yard line when the Cardinals went for it on fourth down and failed in the first half. Two runs by Johnson couldn’t do it, nor could a third-down, play-action pass from Rosen to tight end Ricky Seals-Jones. Johnson then was swallowed for no gain as the Cardinals turned the ball over on downs.
“The opportunities are there, we just find ways to miss them,” said Rosen, who was 21-of-31 for 240 yards with an interception.
Defensively, the Cardinals’ run defense got mauled for the sixth consecutive week as the Vikings rushed for a season-high 195 yards. Backup tailback Latavius Murray, starting for the injured Dalvin Cook, ran for a career-high 155 yards on 24 carries and a first-quarter, 21-yard touchdown that set the tone for the game.
As he broke through the line of scrimmage and found the second level, Murray stiff-armed Cardinals safety Antoine Bethea in the face and knocked him on his backside.
“Just trying to use every ability that I have,” Murray said, adding, “The first explosive run that I had, a guy tackled me, so I wanted to make up for those things.”
It was like that most off the day for the Vikings, who brought the fight to the Cardinals and watched them fall down, too.
“We knew they were going to run the ball because we haven’t been doing a good job stopping the run,” Bethea said. “It’s still things that we’re doing to ourselves, getting caught out of our gaps. Those are happening on all the big runs, so you can definitely give credit to them but we’ve got to look in the mirror and ask ourselves if we want to get this thing done.”
It’s the fifth time the Cardinals have allowed 122 or more yards rushing by an opponent, and they’ve allowing an average of 151, which is the most in the league. It’s not the system or the scheme, though, Bethea said. It’s the players.
“There’s nothing wrong with the system,” he said. “We just have to be accountable. This system is big on every player having a gap, so if one guy is out of his gap and that running back finds that gap, these things happen.”
Bad things keep happening with the Cardinals at an alarming rate. The defense did a nice job of getting to Cousins, sacking him four times, including a strip-sack by Chandler Jones that led to a 36-yard fumble return for a touchdown by safety Budda Baker. But the Cardinals couldn’t contain Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen, who caught 11 passes for 123 yards and a touchdown during a record-setting day.
“We need to do a better job there,” Wilks said.
That’s the same thing Wilks keeps saying about his offense, which has now been outscored 42-0 in the third quarter of games this season. How is he planning on getting the unit moving?
“Right now, we need to look at all options and what we need to do to get this offense moving efficiently,” he said.
If there’s going to be a major change of any kind, it probably won’t happen until after the Broncos’ game on Thursday. If that game goes as badly as this one did, the change could be thunderous and feel like as much of a blizzard as the Cardinals felt on Sunday.
“We have to continue to dig deep,” Jones said. “We need to continue to buy into what the coaches are coaching. Everybody needs to pay attention to details and get this thing turned around for sure. Me, as one of the captains and leaders of this team, it’s my job to stay on top of the guys to get this thing turned around.”