THE STORY: MINNEAPOLIS – The offense looked nothing like what was seen the previous week in Seattle, and that could’ve been enough.
The defense was good, and that should’ve been enough.
But the Cardinals were left with a painful 23-22 loss to the Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on Sunday, after carrying 19-6 lead late into the fourth quarter, sacking Minnesota quarterback Sam Darnold five times and outgaining their hosts by 133 yards.
“This one hurts for sure,” said wide receiver Marvin Harrison Jr., who had the touchdown catch to give the Cardinals (6-6) their largest lead of the game. “That’s a really good team. We just couldn’t get it done.”
The loss created extra pain in the context of the NFC West, since the Seahawks (7-5) came back from a two-touchdown deficit to beat the Jets in New York, 26-21. That moved Seattle a full game ahead of the Cards, although the Seahawks visit State Farm Stadium next week.
“It’s tough knowing at this point of the season, with what you are trying to accomplish,” cornerback Garrett Williams said. “It’s frustrating not to close the deal.”
As well as the defense had played, the Vikings (10-2) were able to drive for two touchdowns and a field goal on their last three full possessions. The last came with 1:13 left, when running back Aaron Jones made a 5-yard TD catch from Darnold, with the extra point providing the winning point.
Quarterback Kyler Murray had more than a minute and all three timeouts to generate a field-goal drive, but it never really got started. Murray was stripped on second down and while he recovered the ball, it caused both yardage loss and a timeout.
A couple of plays later, his fourth-down downfield heave to Harrison was picked off – Murray’s second interception of the game – and that was that.
“We didn’t make enough plays,” said Murray, who spent the majority of the postgame sitting at his locker mulling the outcome. “It came back to bite us.”
The Cardinals had 406 yards, their second-best total of the season and a far cry from the showing in Seattle. They ran 77 plays, by far the most of the season. But getting a career-most five field goals from kicker Chad Ryland – he missed a sixth try – wasn’t enough.
Penalties shredded the opportunities, including turning a first-and-goal at the Minnesota 5 late in the game to a second-and-20 at the 25. A TD there, and the Cardinals win.
“That was brutal,” coach Jonathan Gannon admitted.
The Cardinals had 10 penalties, and Gannon acknowledged the officiating crew is known for calling fewer infractions. “We shot ourselves in the foot too much,” he said.
Aside from penalties, there were turnovers – in particular, Murray’s first two-interception game of the season. His first, he was trying to make a play under a heavy Minnesota rush in a similar way that he flung across the field to Trey McBride against the Bears earlier this season.
This time, though, Michael Wilson was closer and not as wide open, and the ball sailed over Wilson’s head and into the hands of Vikings cornerback (and former Cardinal) Byron Murphy.
The stats mostly favored the Cardinals. The running game bounced back big against the league’s best run defense, denting them for 154 yards and James Conner had 68 and Murray added 48. McBride was great with 12 catches and Harrison, after a slow start, had 60 yards on five receptions and a touchdown – although he was targeted 12 times.
The defense made Darnold look like his previous incarnation for most of the game.
But it wasn’t the whole game, and that will sting.
“They are disappointed and they are down,” Gannon said. “This is the NFL. They’ll get back to work.”
