Minnesota Vikings News and Links:  Can The Vikings Handle The Cardinals?

I know that the signing of Daniel Jones to the practice squad is not totally popular but it is a good move to get a dude with 69 starts. The speculation has already begun about next year which is kind of comical. He could end up signing with another team if there is an injury on a playoff team. I could see him staying with the Vikings if Darnold moves on but probably only if there is a real competition for the spot. It may not be popular but I could see JJ sitting another year. First things first though.

Are you picking the Vikings to win this week?

Minnesota Vikings News and Links

Daniel Jones explains signing with Vikings after Giants release

“You look at, offensively, what they’ve been able to do,” he said. “The system, coach (Kevin) O’Connell, his staff, just a lot of good things happening across the board — as a team, as an organization but on offense especially. So just excited to join that and help out wherever I can.”

“He played the position in the league and has a lot of experience as a coach,” Jones said of O’Connell, who lasted five NFL seasons (2008-12) before getting into coaching in 2015. “I got to know him through the draft a little bit when he was in Washington, so that was cool. His system’s been successful. He knows quarterback play, knows how to build the quarterback environment and I think just being a part of that and learning from him and his whole staff was a great opportunity for me.”

In 70 games (69 starts) over six seasons with the Giants, Jones went 24-44-1 while completing 1,437 of 2,241 passes for 14,582 yards and 70 touchdowns to 47 interceptions. He rounded out his production with 399 rushes for 2,179 yards and 15 touchdowns while fumbling 50 times.

“You’re always looking to grow and improve and to work on your craft, see where you can get better and pick up on certain things,” said Jones, who joins a position group that has former Jets quarterback Sam Darnold as the starter. “So, yeah, I’m looking forward to that but more so just to help out — to be part of a good quarterback room, part of a good offense and see where I can help.”

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5 Things to Know About Vikings New QB Daniel Jones

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Vikings Make Final Call on Sam Darnold’s Future, Insider Says

The Minnesota Vikings are keeping their options open at the quarterback position for the 2025 season — however, Sam Darnold appears to be a foregone conclusion.

In light of the Vikings signing Daniel Jones to their practice squad, Longtime ESPN host Trey Wingo reported on November 27 that “no matter what happens the rest of this season Darnold won’t be back with the Vikings, per sources.”

It’s been safe to assume that Darnold will garner interest for a starting job in 2025. However, this is the first sourced report shutting the door on any prospect of the 27-year-old quarterback returning to Minnesota.

Darnold is second in the league in Pro Football Focus’ big-time throws metric and has thrown 21 touchdowns through 11 games, the fourth-most in the league. He’s among only eight quarterbacks with a passer rating over 100.0 this season.

Darnold is projected to garner a contract worth $32.4 million a year, which seems well out of the Vikings’ price range with rookie J.J. McCarthy poised to compete for the starting job in 2025.

Surpassing expectations this season, Darnold was deemed the No. 1 free-agent quarterback of the 2025 offseason by ESPN.

That’s not just media fluff, either. The Athletic’s Diana Russini reported on November 28 that several NFL executives believe Darnold will command a market in free agency.

“Darnold’s price might continue to go up as teams evaluate the draft and available free-agent quarterbacks,” Russini wrote. “Front office executives believe that his experience and performance in Minnesota this season will make Darnold’s market competitive in March.”

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Amid Sam Darnold’s success, Vikings HC Kevin O’Connell heaps praise on unsung hero behind his resurgence

The resurgence of quarterback Sam Darnold with the Minnesota Vikings has been nothing short of excellent.

General manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and head coach Kevin O’Connell have built the culture that has influenced his success. Pair that with an elite group of weapons and great coaching and it’s culminated in a 9-2 record.

There are a lot of different factors behind a quarterback having success. From the coaching and play calls to the supporting cast, they are often more successful when those elements are in sync.

One player that often doesn’t get enough credit is the center. The Vikings have a talented veteran in Garrett Bradbury and he’s been a big factor in Darnold’s success, something that O’Connell talked about on Friday.

“Yeah, I think it’s important, because that dialog between the center and the quarterback, regardless of how you put together your system, who’s responsible for what at the line of scrimmage. To me, that dynamic of collaboration between the center and the quarterback with the play clock going down on the road, crowd noise, all those things, those two positions provide such poise and clarity for the other nine guys in the huddle, either those guys up front, running backs in protection, you know, the timing and rhythm of our past game, the physicality of our run game, the angles, by making sure we’re getting to the best play we can when we’ve got to play on a can or if there’s any uncertainty, those guys in their dialect have to resolve that in a very short amount of time. So Garrett, being the high-level player between the ears that he is. I think it does help Sam. I think it’s helped him numerous times this year. Make it about Sam doing his job within our offense, and Garrett’s huge for that.”

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Vikings-Cardinals Week 13 score predictions from the Vikings On SI staff

Will Ragatz: Vikings 29, Cardinals 24

The Cardinals certainly have the pieces to give the Vikings’ defense some issues. Murray has been playing at a high level this season, and although Harrison has been inconsistent as a rookie, he’ll be a tough matchup for Stephon Gilmore and Minnesota’s other corners. McBride going against Blake Cashman over the middle of the field will be another fun battle. But while Arizona should put up some points, I think Darnold and the Vikings’ weapons will be able to move the ball without too much difficulty against the Cardinals’ defense. The raucous home crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium will make a difference in what projects as a close game.

Joe Nelson: Vikings 34, Cardinals 23

Nolan O’Hara: Vikings 27, Cardinals 21

Jonathan Harrison: Vikings 24, Cardinals 17

Tony Liebert: Cardinals 30, Vikings 26

The Cardinals are quietly in first place in the NFC West and with Kirk Cousins and the Falcons coming to town next week, this is a prime lookahead spot for the Vikings. Minnesota is favored to beat Arizona, but Kyler Murray is playing some of the most efficient football of his career. This game should come down to a few big plays, and I see the Cardinals being able to make a few more and pick up a big intra-conference win on the road.

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NFL Expert Picks: Vikings Return Home as Favorites Against Cardinals

Vikings 31, Cardinals 21 – Pete Prisco, CBS Sports

The Cardinals are coming off a road loss to the Seahawks, while the Vikings are home for the first time in three weeks. The Arizona offense seemed to struggle last week at Seattle, and now it will be challenged by the Minnesota defense. I think the Vikings limit Kyler Murray, and the Minnesota offense will hit a few big plays to Justin Jefferson to win it.

Vikings 23, Cardinals 20 – Staff, Bleacher Report

The Arizona Cardinals lost some momentum on the other side of their Week 11 bye, losing 16-6 to the Seattle Seahawks on the road. They’ll continue to travel and face one of the league’s best squads.

The Minnesota Vikings squandered a 3.5-point cover last week, allowing the Chicago Bears to score 11 points in 22 seconds, but [Bleacher Report NFL analyst Gary] Davenport believes they can force the Cardinals offense to be one-dimensional like the Seahawks did last week with a stout run defense, which will allow them to win decisively.

Vikings 30, Cardinals 27 – Bill Bender, Sporting News

The Vikings are 4-1 with three one-score victories at home this season. Arizona had its four-game winning streak snapped, and they are 2-3 on the road this season. Kyler Murray took five sacks last week. The protection will need to be better if the Cardinals want to pull an upset, but we think the Vikings charmed season continues in a wild early-window game.

Vikings 21, Cardinals 13 – Vinnie Iyer, Sporting News

The Cardinals are much better at running the ball and playing defense at home for Jonathan Gannon. The Vikings have become red-hot offensively again, and they will be ready to go after Kyler Murray in what becomes a one-dimensional attack. Minnesota gets the key sacks and turnovers to win comfortably again.

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Vikings vs. Cardinals Week 13 Game Preview

1. Humongous home-field advantage

Kyler Murray will try to be the first Cardinals quarterback to beat the Vikings at home since Jim Hart did 47 years ago. Hart led the St. Louis Cardinals to a 27-7 victory at Metropolitan Stadium on Nov. 6, 1977.

2. Big test for run defense

Opponents have averaged 58.8 rushing yards in Minnesota’s past four games.

Enter Arizona, which has the league’s sixth-ranked rushing offense (140.3 yards per game) and running back James Conner, who’s tied with Derrick Henry atop the NFL in missed tackles forced with 71 per NGS.

3. Pressuring the protection

Murray has posted two of his eight highest single-game passing totals in two career games against Minnesota. Overall, he’s completed 60 of 80 throws (75%) for 726 yards (363 avg.), six passing touchdowns and four interceptions. He also has rushed for 67 yards and a score — and taken seven sacks.

We’re focusing on that last figure because Murray was sacked more than anyone else in 2019, his rookie campaign, but has improved at navigating the pocket in the past five seasons. In that span, Murray owns the eighth-lowest sack rate (5.68 percent of dropbacks) among 16 quarterbacks who’ve played in at least 60 games. Josh Allen is the lowest of the group at 4.32%, and Russell Wilson is at the other end at 8.78%.

Murray’s been dropped 20 times so far in 2024; one-fourth of those occurred in Week 12. The only offenses who have allowed fewer sacks are Buffalo (13), Green Bay (15), Baltimore (16) and Denver (19).

4. Sam Darnold’s strong play

It’s OK with us that Darnold is continuing to fly under the national radar.

His nine games this season with a passer rating above 100 is tied for the most in the NFL with Lamar Jackson, who seems to be running away with everybody’s MVP vote. Darnold’s mark also is tied for the third most in a season in Vikings history, behind 10 by Brett Favre (2009) and Daunte Culpepper (2000).

Here’s a glimpse of the big picture: His 21 touchdown passes through 11 games is a career high, along with his 67.6% completion rate and 101.7 passer rating. He has an NFL-best 43 connections of 20-plus yards and ranks fifth in yards per attempt (8.3) among qualified quarterbacks. Yup, Darnold is crushing it.

Brian Flores on Blake Cashman and Andrew Van Ginkel against mobile quarterbacks

“Yeah, I mean, [Blake Cashman and Andrew Van Ginkel] certainly are fast and good tacklers and do a really good job as spies, and they cover a lot of ground. But really, it’s a total team [effort]. It’s not going to be just one guy with a player like Kyler [Murray]. It’s everyone handling their responsibility, doing their job – from a rush-awareness standpoint, from a, you know, not flying by the quarterback on some edge rushes, keeping them contained while still being aggressive. But everybody’s got to go – you never know who it’s going to be – but certainly those guys, we try to put them in position where they’re the guys when we’re in a chase mode.”

Sam Darnold on defenses selling out to cover Justin Jefferson

“It’s different week to week. Obviously, when you do get 1-on-1 shots, you don’t want to miss it. But at the same time, if certain coverages are based around him, yeah, other guys are going to get their opportunities. But even when they do want to do double him, he’s still able to get open sometimes. So, he’s just going to continue to fight to get open, and we’re just going to continue to do – I’m going to continue to do my job to the best of my ability.”

Kevin O’Connell on how different the Cardinals look from 2023 joint practices

“Even then, though, I remember talking to [Cardinals Head Coach] Jonathan [Gannon] just about how hard they played. And it seemed like they were off to a really good start building his vision of the football team. And I think there’s countless examples all over the tape, and their results this year, that just speak really highly about what he’s building there. … Kyler [Murray is] playing really, really good football. They’re physical, really in all three phases. And I think that their defense causes a lot of schematical issues to work through for your guys out there on the field. We’ve got to be totally connected. We’ve got to have great communication. And we’ve got to have a true all-11 kind of performance against a group like this.”

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The onus is on Cardinals OL to set the tone vs. Vikings

The Arizona Cardinals starting offensive line didn’t need last Sunday’s tape to know the obvious:

It got handled last week against the Seattle Seahawks.

From an almost nonexistent run game that mustered 49 yards to the five sacks on quarterback Kyler Murray, it was an uncharacteristic showing for a unit usually credited for bringing the physicality to the trenches.

If the Cardinals are going to have any chance against the 9-2 Minnesota Vikings, that kind of performance cannot be replicated.

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Vikings fullback C.J. Ham used the words of his grandfather to overcome the loss of his grandfather

C.J. Ham played against the Bears only hours after George Ham died. He drew strength from teammates and coaches and inspiration from George himself.

Sitting with his grandfather and a cousin last Saturday, Vikings fullback C.J. Ham recalled a sentiment his grandfather used to share.

“C.J., you don’t play football. You play football,” George Ham, a Golden Gloves boxer and Navy veteran, would tell his grandson.

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Yore Mock

Trade Recap

Minnesota Receives:

2025: Round 2, Pick 35

2025: Round 3, Pick 92

Jacksonville Receives:

2025: Round 1, Pick 28

…

Minnesota Receives:

2025: Round 2, Pick 39

2025: Round 5, Pick 168

Cleveland Receives:

2025: Round 2, Pick 35

…

Minnesota Receives:

2025: Round 4, Pick 110

2025: Round 4, Pick 138

Buffalo Receives:

2025: Round 3, Pick 97

…

Minnesota Receives:

2025: Round 5, Pick 156

2025: Round 7, Pick 217

New York Receives:

2025: Round 5, Pick 146

…

Minnesota Receives:

2025: Round 5, Pick 174

2025: Round 6, Pick 211

Baltimore Receives:

2025: Round 5, Pick 168

…

39. Jahdae Barron CB Texas 5’11” 200

Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

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92. Alfred Collins DL Texas 6’5” 320

Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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110. Connor Colby IOL Iowa 6’6” 310

Photo by G Fiume/Getty Images

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138. Mello Dotson CB Kansas 6’1” 190

Photo by Michael Allio/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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156. Bhayshul Tuten RB Virginia Tech 5’11” 209

Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images

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164. Quandarrius Robinson EDGE Alabama 6’5” 241

Gary Cosby Jr.-Imagn Images

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174. Jonas Sanker S Virginia 6’1” 210

Amber Searls-Imagn Images

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211. Jake Majors IOL Texas 6’3” 315

Photo by Michael Wade/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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217. Eli Stowers TE Vanderbilt 6’4” 235

Photo by Carly Mackler/Getty Images

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242. Jack Kiser LB Notre Dame 6’2” 231

Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

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