A number of players following the Vikings win over the Cardinals said there was a feeling of relief after four straight losses.
Hall of Fame quarterback and contributing columnist for the Pioneer Press Fran Tarkenton said that snapping the losing streak was the hardest part for Minnesota and the team will **hopefully turn things around from here**. He wrote:
The Vikings reversed the negative cycle they had been caught in for a month: Four straight losses; the resignation of offensive coordinator Norv Turner and the release of Blair Walsh; close, devastating losses. Turning around a situation like that isn't easy. You have to start by winning one game, and the Vikings did it.
Tarkenton said the win was especially significant because it was against a talented Arizona team, particularly on the offensive side of the ball. Minnesota's defense came up big on a number of plays, and Tarkenton said it resembled "the defense we remembered from earlier in the year."
And it really was the Vikings, collectively. You always will take a win wherever you can get it, but it's nice when everybody participates. A 100-yard interception return for a touchdown by the defense. A 104-yard kick return for a touchdown on special team. Touchdowns both on the ground and through the air offensively.
Tarkenton enjoyed watching a number of Vikings make catches throughout the game. He highlighted Stefon Diggs, Adam Thielen and Kyle Rudolph, saying multiple options make things easier for both Sam Bradford and Interim Offensive Coordinator Pat Shurmur.
From here on out, Tarkenton said every week matters.
*Every game is a big game now. There are only six left in the regular season, and it looks like it's going to come down to the Vikings and the Lions in the NFC North. *
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Do the Vikings have the players to compete? Absolutely. The four-game losing streak happened, but it's in the past. Stuff happens in the NFL. Right now, the Vikings have the wind at their backs and a whole new mindset. Everybody with a stake in Vikings Nation, from the fans to the players to the front office and everybody else, just feels good. The sun is back in the sky.
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Vikings only team to have 3 DEs with 5-plus sacks
Heading into the Vikings-Lions rematch on Thanksgiving Day, Matt Vensel of the Star Tribune took a look at some **interesting Vikings stats at this point in the season**.
One that jumped out is that Minnesota is the NFL's only team to have three defensive ends with at least five sacks. Vensel wrote:
Second-year defensive end Danielle Hunter had two sacks in the win over the Cardinals, in the process jumping over fellow end Everson Griffen for the team lead in sacks. Hunter now has seven sacks on the season, one more than Griffen. And veteran Brian Robison, who starts over Hunter at left end and has out-snapped him every game, tallied his fifth sack of 2016 against the Cardinals. As a result, the Vikings are the only team in the NFL that has three defensive ends with at least five sacks, per Vikings PR[YL1] .
Vensel also pointed out that Minnesota's offensive line impressed against Arizona on Sunday. The Vikings played T.J. Clemmings at left tackle and inserted Jeremiah Sirles at right. Vensel said the combination at the line worked, producing one if its best games in pass protection.
The offensive line allowed only 10 total pressures on 34 dropbacks for Bradford, according to Pro Football Focus. Sure, it helped that on average Bradford got the ball out at 2.19 seconds, but let's give credit where it is due. Left guard Alex Boone in particular had a strong game, not allowing a single pressure, per PFF.
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Yotter: Sam Bradford beating blitzes
While the Vikings have worked to adapt through an injury-battered offensive line, Bradford has received plenty of pressure throughout the season. Viking Update's Tim Yotter pointed out that teams have been blitzing against Minnesota even more, **but Bradford hasn’t been rattled**.
*It's an understandable approach by opposing defenses, but it doesn't seem to have affected Bradford's effectiveness. In the last three games, when the blitzes have increased the most, he has passer ratings of 103.4, 104.9 and 98.7. *
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Last week against the Arizona Cardinals, Bradford had an average time to throw of 2.19 seconds, which was the second-fastest among NFL quarterbacks in Week 11, according to Pro Football Focus. Good thing Bradford was so quick to release it, too, given that the Cardinals' average time to the passer was 2.16 seconds, meaning Bradford either had to release the ball to receivers running shorter routes or step out of harm's way to limit his sacks to only two.
According to Yotter, Bradford has been blitzed 40 percent of the time, compared to the first seven games when the Vikings were never blitzed more than 30 percent of the time. Yotter posed the question of how the Lions will attack the Vikings on Thursday.
That remains to be seen. The first meeting was Shurmur's first as offensive coordinator and Bradford performed well with a quick passing game. Lately, Bradford has been solid when blitzed, and the Vikings offense has given the Lions much more to think about this time around with an increased use of the Wildcat and other creative plays.
