The Vikings got back on track Sunday, defeating the Arizona Cardinals 30-24 in a heart-pounding contest that came down to the final minutes. The win improves the Vikings record to 6-4 on the season and drops Arizona to 4-5-1. Here are 10 observations from the Vikings win over Arizona…

1. Patterson's revival continues

One of the encouraging subplots to the Vikings 2016 season has been the revival of Cordarrelle Patterson. From the offseason program through Sunday's win, Patterson has consistently demonstrated the will to do whatever it takes to help the team win. He's even contributed in significant ways as a gunner on the punt team. Against Arizona, Patterson did it his conventional way by taking the opening kickoff of the second half and returning it 104 yards for a touchdown, giving the Vikings a shot in the arm and a 27-17 lead. Patterson also had four catches for 53 yards on the day, including a 30-yard catch-and-run on 3rd and 1 that led to a Matt Asiata touchdown four plays later. He also had a six-yard grab on 3rd and 5 that led to a field goal.

2. Defense adjusted and dominated in second half

At halftime, the Cardinals had 263 yards of offense, 19 first downs and 17 points. They finished the game with 290 yards, 24 first downs and 24 points. Don't worry about doing the math…just know that it was a complete domination in the final two quarters for Mike Zimmer's defense. Arizona picked up just five first downs in the second half and they netted only 27 yards. The Cardinals seven second half possessions ended like this: punt, punt, INT, punt, TD, punt, downs.

3. X marked the spot for Vikings defense

A key component to the Vikings defense dominated in the second half was CB Xavier Rhodes, who intercepted Cardinals QB Carson Palmer twice on the day and took one of those picks back 100 yards for a touchdown. That score scratched a Cardinals drive that had gone 46 yards in nine plays and could have resulted in Arizona taking the lead. Instead, Rhodes' score gave the Vikings a 10-point cushion late in the 2nd quarter.

4. Pass rush came alive late in the game

Sack totals don't tell the whole story for a defensive line. The Vikings haven't accumulated sacks lately the way they did early in the season, but the defensive line was still playing well despite the team losing four straight games. Against Arizona, the defensive line played well yet again AND the sack numbers accompanied the performance. The Vikings sacked Palmer four times on the afternoon, with the pressure and sacks increasing as the game progressed. Danielle Hunter had 2.0 sacks on the day. His first came on 2nd and 8 and eventually led to a key Cardinals drive stalling out late in the 4th quarter. Hunter's second sack essentially ended the game because it came on 4th down and wound up being the Cardinals last offensive snap of the day. Brian Robison and Harrison Smith tallied the other two Vikings sacks.

5. Offense shows red zone resiliency

The Vikings scored two red zone touchdowns on their first offensive possession of the game. Only one counted, of course, but both scoring plays were impressive moments for the Vikings offense. The first score came on 2nd and 2 from the Arizona 12 when Sam Bradford lofted a perfectly placed pass to the awaiting arms of Kyle Rudolph. An illegal hands to the face penalty on Jeremiah Sirles nullified the score, however, and backed the Vikings up to the Arizona 22. Two plays later, Bradford placed yet another perfect ball to the front pylon, where Adam Thielen gathered it and toe-tapped in bounds to secure the catch and score. The player was actually ruled an incompletion, but head coach Mike Zimmer challenged the play and the ruling on the field was overturned for a Vikings touchdown. It was the first of two successful challenges Zimmer would have on the day, with the second one also resulting in a (Matt Asiata) touchdown.

6. Running game still needs to get going

Those looking to find areas where the Vikings can improve need look no further than the rushing offense. The Vikings have struggled in this area all season and they did so again against a stingy Arizona defense. The Vikings ran the ball 24 times for 72 yards, and although they did score a touchdown on the ground they also averaged only 3.0 yards per carry and they weren't able to put the game away with their offense because of the inability to move the ball on the ground. Some good news to this end is that the wildcat formation/personnel grouping did give the running game a jolt and it also opened up a gadget play in which Bradford lined up as a wide receiver but wound up receiving a pitch and threw a pass to the goal line intended for Adam Thielen. The pass fell incomplete, but Arizona was flagged for defensive pass interference at their own 2, and the Vikings scored moments later.

7. Locke a key contributor in the win

Jeff Locke is having a career season and his outstanding play again on Sunday was key to the Vikings win. Locked had a net average of 47.3 yards and had a long punt of 72 yards. The 72-yard boomer came after the Vikings were unable to sustain a drive and grind out the clock late in the 4th quarter. Instead, Locke came on and blasted a punt down the field that wasn't fielded by Arizona. The line of scrimmage for the punt was the Minnesota 15, and Arizona's first play was scrimmaged from their own 13. Locke also had a 50-yard punt in both the 3rd and 4th quarters. In total, Locke put two more punts inside the opponent's 20, giving him 25 for the season, and he was key in the Vikings winning the field position battle late in the game so the defense could finish off the victory. 

8. Kai Forbath solid in debut

It wasn't perfect, but it was a good debut for new kicker Kai Forbath. The Vikings signed Forbath earlier in the week and he had a solid day kicking. Forbath was perfect on his point after touchdown (PATs) tries, converting four of them. He also hit a 27-yard field goal in the third quarter and had five touchbacks on six kickoffs. Forbath did have a PAT blocked, but overall it was an encouraging debut for the Vikings new-look kicking game.

9. Too many penalties

The Vikings were penalized 10 times for a total of 73 yards on Sunday, with a few of them aiding in or directly resulting in extended Cardinals drives. Some penalties are the result of poor timing or circumstance, but others are because of poor technique or a lack of discipline. Zimmer and his staff will identify which penalties were which and demand the team eliminate the miscues.

10. First place in the NFC North is on the line in four days

Sunday's win over Arizona was big for the Vikings. They defended their home field, they notched a sixth victory and they ended a four-game losing streak. The Vikings don't have much time to enjoy it, though, because they hit the road on Wednesday for a big game against NFC North rival Detroit at Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day. Detroit also won on Sunday, giving them the same 6-4 record as the Vikings. The winner of Thursday's game will have a one-game lead in the division and the Vikings need the win to have a chance to own the in-division tie-breaker over Detroit.