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Arizona Cardinals run over by Minnesota Vikings offense

By Scott Allen

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 14: Latavius Murray #25 of the Minnesota Vikings runs with the ball and stiff arms Antoine Bethea #41 of the Arizona Cardinals on the way to a 21-yard touchdown at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 14, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images)
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - OCTOBER 14: Latavius Murray #25 of the Minnesota Vikings runs with the ball and stiff arms Antoine Bethea #41 of the Arizona Cardinals on the way to a 21-yard touchdown at U.S. Bank Stadium on October 14, 2018 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Adam Bettcher/Getty Images) /
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32. 27. 60. Final. 17

The Arizona Cardinals run defense dropped the ball Sunday in frustrating loss to the Minnesota Vikings

Stop the run.  Seems like a simple task, maybe not always easy, but after six weeks, the Arizona Cardinals still haven’t figured it out.

The Minnesota Vikings?  Well they have the running game figured out, at least for this week they did.  They rushed for 195-yards on Sunday, more than half of the yards the Vikings had rushed for over the first five weeks combined.

The pass rush was alright for the Cardinals.  Th Cardinals defense managed four sacks and batted six Kirk Cousins passes down.  They also had an interception, a beautiful one by safety Tre Boston, and a defensive touchdown on a fumble return by safety Budda Baker.

On offense, quarterback Josh Rosen was erratic.  He did some good things but also looked much like a rookie at other times.

Rosen was 21-31 for 240-yards and an interception.  He was sacked four times and lucky it was only that.  The Cardinals offensive line was pretty much a no-show on Sunday.

The Cardinals managed just 61-yards on the ground.  They failed to score in the first half on a first and goal at the seven.  They had a third and fourth and goal at the one, neither of which were successful and forced to give the ball back to the Vikings on downs.

It wasn’t the rout some expected to see.  It was however, another tale of poor running, poor play calling at times, failure to stop the run, and mental mistakes.

All of that put together equals a loss most Sunday’s.  The loss now puts the Cardinals at 1-5 and up against a short week.  They play the Denver Broncos on Thursday night at home in Glendale.

If they want to stop the Broncos, they need to do a better job of in-game adjustments.  They failed to turn a positive first half into something greater in the second.  The third quarter was the killer once again.

Next. Arizona Cardinals safety is making an impression. dark

Also, they need to figure out third downs.  They were 0-10 on third down conversions on Sunday.  They won’t win many games losing that battle.

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