Cardinals Vikings Line

Written by Steve Janus

The Minnesota Vikings will try and get on the board with their first win of the season when they host the Arizona Cardinals in week 5. The Vikings lost 17-22 at Kansas City this past week, giving the Chiefs their first win of the season. Things haven’t been going a whole lot better for the Cardinals, who fell to 1-3 after losing 27-31 at home to the Giants. It was the second time this season Arizona blew a lead of eight or more in the fourth quarter. Minnesota beat Arizona 27-24 last season and have won three of the last four meetings overall.

Taking a look at the week 5 NFL lines, oddsmakers currently have the Cardinals favored by 2.5-points over the Vikings with the total set at 44.5 points.

Arizona Cardinals:

After scoring 14 points in the fourth quarter to beat the Panthers in week 1, the Cardinals have been unable to get the job done late in games. They were outscored 12-7 in the final period of a 22-21 loss at Washington, failed to score at all in the second half of a 13-10 loss at Seattle, and were dominated 21-7 in the final period of their 27-31 loss to the Giants.

Arizona has had success moving the ball with both the run and the pass, but just can’t seem to put it all together for four quarters. Last week Beanie Wells rushed for 138 yards and three touchdowns, while Kevin Kolb threw for 237 yards on 20 of 34 passing. Kolb connected with Larry Fitzgerald eight times for 102 yards, but finished with no touchdowns and an interception. It was the first game this season Kolb failed to throw a touchdown.

This week the Cardinals face a Minnesota defense that has been great against the run (76.3 ypg) but really struggled against the pass (286.3 ypg). With Wells likely struggling to back up his big performance against the Giants, it will be up to Kolb and the passing game to get the Cardinals a win.

Minnesota Vikings:

While the Vikings didn’t blow a double-digit lead for a fourth consecutive game, things are not looking good in Minnesota after losing to the 0-3 Chiefs. The Vikings went out and acquired veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb this offseason in hopes that he could keep them competitive, but instead he has been one of the big reasons this team has not won a game.

McNabb threw for 202 yards and two touchdowns in the loss to Kansas City, but went just 18 of 30 with an interception. He has completed just 58.6% of his passes for 680 yards and four touchdowns on the season, and some are wondering how much longer before rookie Christian Ponder is given a chance to start.

Most of the Vikings offense this season has come from Pro Bowl running back Adrian Peterson, but the star back had just 80 yards on 23 attempts against a Chiefs defense that had struggled against the run. It’s hard to imagine just how bad Minnesota would be offensively if it wasn’t for Peterson, who has 425 yards of total offense and three touchdowns this season.

McNabb and company will have a great opportunity to get the offense rolling this week, as they face an Arizona defense that has really struggled in the early portion of the season. The Cardinals are 15th against the run (105.5 ypg) and 26th against the pass (282.8 ypg).

Betting Trends:

Arizona is 7-23 ATS in their last 30 road games vs. a team with a losing home record.

Minnesota is 8-3-1 ATS in their last 12 games as a home favorite.

Be sure to stop back and check out who Steve Janus has picked to win in week 5 of the NFL.

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