Arizona tops Vikings to clinch playoff spot

Peterson still got the ball four times on the drive, helping the Vikings maintain a sense of balance on offense even though they were down a touchdown and he only gained five yards on the carries.

More than a half-decade has passed since Dwight Freeney ranked among the NFL’s elite pass rushers.

Add Teddy Bridgewater to the list.

“That’s why I came back, ’cause moments like this, you can’t duplicate those in life”, Freeney stated. “We played with the heart and the desire and the fight and all of those things that I want, but we turned the ball over three times”.

The third time was a charm.

An 11th win of the season lifts them out of range of nearest pursuers the Seattle Seahawks to secure the NFC West title and they join unbeaten NFC South leaders the Carolina Panthers in the post-season. I know head coach Bruce Arians probably appreciates how little hype his team is getting, and would love to enter the playoffs under the radar.

The Minnesota Vikings put themselves in position to pull off what would have been a remarkable victory, with all sorts of issues stacked against them at Arizona. However, the Vikings retaliated and the game was tied again at 20-20 with another field goal and a touchdown pass.

Palmer, who was 25-of-35 with no interceptions, threw touchdown passes of 65 yards to wide receiver John Brown and 42 yards to wide receiver Michael Floyd.

It was hard to believe the Vikings could compete as well as they did against Arizona in a 23-20 loss Thursday night.

“Game on!” both men seemed to say with their eyes. But Minnesota gave Arizona fits all night. “The first one, he blocked me, so I said no one will ever expect another one“.

Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer worked over a depleted Minnesota defense that was missing a handful of starters, throwing for 310 yards and two touchdowns. “I made a few plays, but it was a team effort”, Campbell said. “We showed we’re capable of doing some great things”. We pick the teams apart. He became the first player with multiple 4,000-yard seasons for the Cardinals. Josh Mauro knocked the ball away from him and Alex Okafor recovered at the Arizona 43.

Palmer’s touchdown passes were his 30th and 31st of the season, breaking the franchise record of 30 TDs set by Kurt Warner in Arizona’s 2008 Super Bowl season. And Adrian Peterson, who criticized the coaching staff twice earlier this week, said it, too: “Guys came here to play”.

In addition to his fumble recovery, Campbell had a sack, three tackles for loss and four quarterback hurries.

A shaky win over Minnesota clinched a playoff berth for the Arizona Cardinals.

The Goats: The Vikings’ loss simply comes down to turnovers.

Peterson got his touches after being a non-factor against the Seahawks, but he didn’t do much after scoring on a 9-yard run in the first quarter.

They went 80 yards in less than 3 1/2 minutes on their opening drive, capped by a brilliant nine-yard touchdown run by Peterson in which he made two quick cuts, then powered through the middle for his 100th career TD. After that drive, he managed just 31 yards in 19 attempts.