Minnesota Vikings at Arizona Cardinals Preview

NFL Football Betting Preview
Minnesota Vikings (10-1) at Arizona Cardinals (7-4)
Sunday December 6th, 8:20PM Eastern

Betus.com betting line – Vikings -3, 48 O/U

The Minnesota Vikings are just one win away from clinching the NFC North, but that may not be the most important goal on the agenda. The Vikings keep looking better every week and they are among the NFC elite. The question that more closely relates to their caliber of play may be if this an NFC Championship team? Well the Vikings have a long way to go before they can prove they are worthy, but they get the chance to make another statement this Sunday when they travel on the road to battle the defending NFC Champions in the Arizona Cardinals.

The Cardinals are winners of 6 of their last 8, but they are coming off a close loss to the emerging Titans 20-17. However, the Cardinals offense is still among the most dangerous in the league and they have the ability to score points quickly. WR Anquan Boldin has stepped up in recent weeks racking up 261 yards over the last 3 games to aid the playmaking threat of Larry Fitzgerald (75 catches, 826 yards, 9 TDs) and if those two guys start getting hot together then look out. QB Kurt Warner was missing behind center last week in the Cardinals loss as he is still in recovery mode from the concussion sustained against the Rams.

If Warner was in the lineup, the outcome may have been different and Arizona would be receiving a lot more attention as one of the hot teams in the league. However, backup Matt Leinart did not play terrible last week completing 21 of 31 passes for 220 yards without any touchdowns or interceptions. The Cardinals can still be effective on offense with Leinart behind center with their weapons on offense. However, the Cardinals will need Warner to be in the line-up this weekend to have their best chance, but unfortunately Warner health is still undecided and he will likely be a game time decision.

Perhaps the most interesting battle will be the Arizona defense as they try to find a way to stop the most balanced offense in the NFL. Defenses take your pick. Either get a dose of Adrian Peterson on the ground or try to defend QB Brett Farve and WR Sidney Rice. So far this season nobody has had an answer for the Vikings offense when they are firing on all cylinders. Rice has exploded over the last 6 games and now ranks 3rd in the NFL with 964 receiving yards to go along with 4 touchdowns. Brett Farve has given Rice the chance to make plays and now it does not look anyone can defend him. Farve is having one of the best years of his long career if that is even possible. Farve has completed 70% passing for 2,874 yards with 23 touchdowns and just 3 picks with a QB rating of 112.1.

Of course it would be easy to try and get some linebacker help and use an extra safety to shade Rice and the emerging rookie Percy Harvin the passing game, but then you leave room for the NFL’s best running back Adrian Peterson to run wild. Peterson has racked up 1,084 yards already this season even though he has been hot and cold at times. However, defenses still have to give him respect. It is an absolute must for the Cardinals defensive line to get pressure and get in the backfield quickly. If they do not, they do not have the secondary to match-up with Harvin and Rice. Ironically, I think that is the exact scenario that will doom the Cardinals as Farve has a big day throwing the ball.

Pick – Minnesota -3