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Cards Wire writers predict outcome of Cardinals-Vikings in Week 13

Jess Root and Howard Balzer make their predictions for the Cardinals’ Week 13 game against the Vikings.

The Arizona Cardinals’ next matchup is on the road in Week 13 taking on the 9-2 Minnesota Vikings. The Cardinals are 3.5-point underdogs in the game and are coming off one of their worst offensive performances of the season, losing 16-6 to the Seattle Seahawks. The loss snapped a four-game winnings streak and dropped them out of first place in the NFC West and out of the NFC playoff picture.

They face a Vikings team that has won four in a row and has both a top-10 offense and top-10 defense. They are No. 1 against the run. They have weapons all over on offense.

So how will this play out?

The Cards Wire writers are both optimistic. Here are our expert predictions for the game.

Jess Root

Call me crazy, but I have a hunch that the Cardinals will bounce back from their loss and look great. It will be tight and go down to the wire. The running game will be better than expected against the No. 1 rush defense in the league and Kyler Murray will protect the football. DL Dante Stills gets another sack and the defense picks off Sam Darnold at least once. Cardinals 23, Vikings 21

Howard Balzer

The proof that there is a strong national belief in the Cardinals, at least among bettors, is that despite a poor offensive performance in last week’s loss to the Seahawks, and despite playing the 9-2 Vikings in another loud environment, the line has Minnesota favored by only 3.5 points. Perhaps it’s because the Vikings are 6-1 in one-score games including last Sunday’s 30-27 overtime win over the Bears and that the Cardinals have proven they are capable of having bounceback wins on the road after losses, most notably in San Francisco and Miami. It says here they will do it again.

Cardinals 24, Vikings 20

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Cardinals OL coach talks Seattle performance, bouncing back, preparing for Vikings

Our weekly Q&A with one of the Cardinals assistant coaches. This week it was OL Coach Klayton Adams.

The Arizona Cardinals offensive line had a lot accolades thrown their way during their four-game winning streak that ended last week in Seattle.

One of the factors in the loss to the Seahawks was a disappointing performance by the line that led to an inconsistent offensive performance that included trouble running the ball and protecting quarterback Kyler Murray.

Offensive line coach Klayton Adams talked to the media Friday after practice and was open about the issues that occurred while looking ahead to playing in another hostile environment. His thoughts are presented in our weekly Q&A.

Q: After last week, just as a coach, how do you approach that kind of situation after a game like that?

A: I think it’s the same approach that you take every week. And I think one of the things that I said to the guys in the room on Monday because they knew it before we even watched the tape. It wasn’t our best effort and we didn’t play as cleanly as we needed to. But then, like Week 16 last year, when maybe people on the outside aren’t paying as much attention, it’s really important to us. And so whether you think you played good or you think you played bad, you got a lot of stuff to get better at. And so that’s the approach every single week for us is, how do we maximize our opportunity to play well and get what we need to get done during the week? So to me, the mindset doesn’t change at all.

Q: What stood out on the film in terms of addressing pressing needs or what’s most important coming off that game?

A: Probably just as a whole, I won’t go into the specifics or coach a player through the media, but I just think as a whole, just us getting off on the snap count together and having kind of the synergy that we’ve had at other points throughout the year. And so there’s probably a lot of things that go into that. But just a lot of little things really is ultimately what it is. And what it amounts to is not playing as cleanly as you want to play.

Q: With all those things, how do you balance the challenge of who you’re going against and being on the road and a loud environment and balancing all that in your evaluation?

A: I mean, it’s the NFL. So we’re going to play in loud environments, and we’re going to play on the road. And that’s one of the keystones in our room is like we need to be the best silent-count team in the NFL. And if you do that, then you give yourself a chance to play more than 17 games. We know when we go into those environments that that’s going to be one of the critical factors for winning the game.

Q: How do you counsel the guys if they weren’t getting off the snap as good as they been?

A: I think environment certainly always goes into it, but like I said, that’s expected. This is the National Football League. And so, you’re going to play in those types of environments. You need to be great in those type of environments. And it doesn’t need to be a situation where you’re creating anxiety or stress for yourself. You need to be excited about playing in those environments and I think that we do that generally. We didn’t do it as well as we wanted to last week.

A: It seemed like there were a lot of plays where guys, especially in the middle, were pushed back in the pocket. Is that related to not getting off immediately or is that a technique thing or something else?

A: No. I think that it’s just one of those games where there’s a couple of those reps. And the good thing is I really believe and trust the guys in the room that we’ll put our best foot forward the next time that we take the field and that’s what everybody’s really focused on right now is let’s get back out there and play football.

Q: (Right tackle) Jonah (Williams) mentioned after the game about understandably knocking some rust off. How do you evaluate that? And then now going forward what do you expect you’ll see from him after getting that game back under his belt?

A: I think that there are a lot of good things that he did. I expect him to play better this week than he did last week, but I could say that about every single guy out there. Having said that, he hadn’t played a full NFL football game since, not just training camp, but the season before. So I expect the progression to be there and that’s what we’re looking at right now is how do we just play better than we did last week and that was our goal last week too. So you got to continue to take steps forward and that’s where we’re at.

Q: What are the keys up front for going up against a Vikings defense that disguises their packages so well?

A: I think ultimately it’s about knowing what you’re supposed to do at such a high level that there doesn’t have to be tons of communication. You don’t have to have all these different adjustments. Do what you’re good at doing and do it at a high level. And I think where people get in trouble with these guys is they probably try to get too specific and do too much. And you could probably say that about most defenses, but if you just do what you do well at a high level, you give yourself a chance in any football game, but that’s even more true in this game.

Q: Aside from last week, how do you look at how this entire line has done this season as it’s progressed?

A: I think like I said what I said to the players in there on Monday. There’s been some good things, we got a lot to clean up, and I think that there’s more ahead of us. And I don’t feel any different about that this week than I did the week before.

Q: What have you seen from Isaiah’s (Adams) game so far?

A: You can tell that he’s getting more comfortable. You can tell that he’s getting more confident and there’s a difference between knowing what to do at practice and then getting out in a game and being able to execute something that has a little bit higher degree of difficulty. And you can see him getting more comfortable with doing those type of things during the game.

Q: They’re No. 2 in blitz rate. What becomes most important for your O-line going against that front in this game?

A: Just knowing the plan. Knowing the plan and being able to execute it and trusting that we haven’t tried to overcomplicate it. And I think one of the keys when you’re playing in a loud environment is obviously you’re not going to be able to just have a conversation with the tackle if you’re the center where you can do that in some environments and so it’s all five guys knowing what to do and not having to have a discussion about it. And I think that those guys have done a good job of that this week.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

DL Dante Stills continues to make plays in Cardinals defense

Stills, in his second season, is leading the team in sacks and coaches praise his consistency.

Six games remain in the Arizona Cardinals’ 2024 season, and it might be a surprise to realize who the team leader is in sacks.

That would be second-year defensive lineman Dante Stills, who has 4.5 for a loss of 31.5 yards, a half-sack ahead of edge rusher Zaven Collins, who has 4.0.

As a team, the Cardinals have 29 and despite the persistent outside chatter that the team has the worst pass-rush group in the NFL, the reality is that they rank 14th in the league in sacks per pass play.

A sixth-round pick in 2023, Stills continues to show growth and make his presence felt whenever he is on the field. In the D-line rotation, Stills has played at least 53 percent of the snaps in seven of the 10 games he has played. He has not been below 53 since the game against the 49ers in Week 5 when he was at 42 percent.

Stills has also compiled 30 tackles with 13 solo and four for loss to go with five quarterback hits, one forced fumble and a pass breakup.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon and defensive coordinator Nick Rallis used the word consistent several times when talking about Stills this week.

“He’s making a bunch of plays and winning a bunch of one-on-ones,” Gannon said. “He’s taken a step with his consistency of doing the right thing and playing with proper technique, and really the consistency of that, it’s allowed his physical skillset to come alive. When your first step is wrong, typically the O-lineman’s going to win the down. When your first step is right, now his explosiveness, his power and his strength can show up.

“If you let that guy punch you first, now you have to get to a counter. He’s punching people first, so I think that just the consistency of doing the right thing and his technique is allowing him to make plays and win some one-on-ones. His game has really ascended since he got here last year, (through) the offseason and until now. He’s a guy that’s steadily improving, so it’s good. He’s a good player. He’s making plays for us.”

Stills said, “The first year I was all new to this. Speed of the game, the playbook. But I’m way better with my preparation, watching film, the playbook and all that.”

Rallis said Stills’ success with rushing the passer is traced to preparation, which is helped by line coach Derrick LeBlanc and outside linebackers coach Rob Rodriguez.

“He’s got a plan in his head and that goes to the preparation of week to week who am I going against?” Rallis said. “What do I feel with my skill set is going to be a beneficial rush on my opponent? Rob and Derrick do a great job with the rush meetings in terms of this is what they do. This is their personnel. And here are some tools that you can use to combat that. But ultimately don’t want to pigeonhole guys into having to rush a certain way. So Dante does a really good job of knowing what his plan is going into the game and putting his plan to work.”

Rallis said the magic “C” word when asked how his overall progress has happened: “Consistency. That’s something I’ve harped on him since he got here because he’ll have really good plays since Day 1. But then, it’s the plays that aren’t up to his standard that I’m always on him about and I feel like he’s just played it with a little bit of a higher standard, more consistently.”

Going back to the importance of “preparation throughout the week,” Rallis added, “Whether it’s when we have structured time and meetings and practice, you see a very intentional focus on what he’s trying to get done. Really the whole D-line room. But really it’s the work he’s putting it outside of those structured times, so you know that kind of preparation is going to lead to better performance.”

Stills loves the guidance he gets from Rallis and his position coaches.

“Every day he’s telling me about my pad level, consistency just to wire me into focusing every day. Hard coaching. I’m very hard on myself, probably more than anybody in the building because I know what type of player I can be. I definitely appreciate the coaches taking the time with me.”

Finally, Rallis explained why it can be difficult for players to have consistency on every play, thanks to the reality that there are pros on the other side of the ball and there are simply going to be times when the opponent wins the battle.

“That’s football,” he said. “But there’s a lot of things that go into that starting with the brain, your ability to focus, to be able to maintain that high level of focus throughout. It’s your stamina. When you’re tired, the technique, the assignment, that focus kind of disappears. Several factors go into that over the course of a long game and then over the course of a long NFL season.

“But I think guys are doing a really good job of taking care of, as JG says, their five buckets. When you take care of your health and you maximize your recovery, fill in your body the correct way; you’re getting your sleep and you’re pouring into continuing to master the scheme, master your technique, you’re going to see more consistent play.”

Concluded Stills, “The first year I was like, I’m probably messing up too much, but now it’s always next-play mentality.”

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Several Cardinals coaches stood out during their time with the Vikings

Seven coaches on the Cardinals’ staff spent time with the Vikings.

It’s a homecoming of sorts for several Arizona Cardinals coaches, including head man Jonathan Gannon, who will be in Minneapolis to play the Vikings, a place where many developed their stripes when Mike Zimmer was the head coach.

These coaches spent time with the Vikings:

Gannon: Defensive quality control 2014-2017
Offensive coordinator Drew Petzing: 2014-2019; offensive assistant 2014-2015, assistant receivers 2016-2017, quarterbacks 2018, receivers 2019
Defensive coordinator Nick Rallis: 2018-2020; defensive quality control 2018-2019; defensive quality control/assistant linebackers 2020
Tight ends coach Ben Steele: 2021; assistant offensive line
Outside linebackers coach Rob Rodriguez: 2015-2019; assistant defensive line
Linebackers coach Sam Siefkes: 2021-2022; defensive quality control 2021; assistant linebackers 2022
Head strength and conditioning coach Evan Marcus: head strength and conditioning coach 2014-2015

We know that most head coaches hire assistants they worked with in the past. Gannon reflected on what it was that resonated with him as he wanted staffers who had capacity and character and could teach.

“When I was in Minnesota, I was there for four years,” he said. “That’s the longest I’ve ever been, out of my, however many stops. Seven stops I think. For four years and we were good, so I got to work with those guys firsthand. When I got here, (the question was) did they fit what I wanted and what I thought was the best for this team, and a lot of those guys did. You can’t hire everybody, but just being with those guys, learning about them as people first, then seeing them teach, seeing their growth mindset, who they were as coaches and teachers and people first; I knew that was attractive to me.

“Then when I left, two other guys that are on our staff walked into that building after I left. When one of your biggest mentors (Zimmer) says, ‘Hey man, you don’t know this guy, but he’s a lot better than you were,’ you take notice. That’s real, so then you start to develop relationships with those guys too. It’s been cool, but we have quite a bunch that have played in this stadium as their home base. They’ll be excited to get back and it’s always cool.”

Petzing agreed, saying, “It’s cool. I know a lot of people in that organization. I love that city. I love a lot of people that work there and live there. I was there for six years so there’s a certain element of being excited to see certain people. Love that. But at the end of the day, once the 60-minute clock starts, I really probably could care less.”

Asked what he recalls of a younger Gannon and Rodriguez, Petzing said, “I think our love of the game, like that’s where it was fostered. That was my second year in the NFL when I got to that organization. It was the first time I ever met JG. It was Nick’s first job in the NFL when he got there, so it was just, we were in a very similar situation in different roles where we talked a lot of football and spent a lot of time together, probably too much time together talking football working out doing so many things together.

“So, you know, it was a really cool experience. It helped me develop as a person, as a coach tremendously, so I’m really grateful for getting to know those guys and still being with them here today.”

Reflected Rallis, “Phenomenal organization. I owe them a lot. They gave me my first opportunity in the NFL and it’s first class. It’s a very fun place to play too. That stadium is going to be rockin’ and that Skol chant’s going to be going. Nothing like that. There’s nothing like a noon kickoff at the ‘Bank’ (U.S. Bank Stadium), so it’ll be phenomenal. I got great memories. There are great people, people that are still there when I was there that really helped me get to where I’m at today.”

When Rallis was asked if he ever thought they would be on the same team as coordinators together five years later, he said, “I don’t know. But I do remember when I first got there, Drew was phenomenal to me. Really helped me out, kind of showed me the ropes a little bit, but also just talking football with him. Really starting to shape my thought process on certain things. It was very beneficial to be around, not just Drew, but a lot of people that were in that building.”

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Cardinals RB James Conner gets 2-year extension

The Cardinals avoided losing James Conner in free agency and have signed him through 2026.

The Arizona Cardinals are committing another two years to running back James Conner. The team announced he signed a two-year contract extension that keeps him under contract through the 2026 season.

Conner was scheduled to be a free agent after this season.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the extension is worth $19 million.

Conner is in his fourth season with the team. This season, he has 705 rushing yards and five touchdowns, averaging 4.2 yards per attempt. He has also caught 29 passes for 288 yards.

This comes after rushing for a career-high 1,040 yards in 2023 despite missing four games.

Conner will turn 30 in May so this contract keeps him with the team through his age 31 season.

He has 3,279 rushing yards since joining the Cardinals, which is 10th on the franchise’s all-time list. As things stand right now, he needs only 1,370 rushing yards to tie Stump Mitchell for No. 2 on the franchise all-time list, something that he should achieve if he remains healthy.

We will update you with financial details of the extension in the days to come.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Rookie CB excelling in role he won’t likely have for long

Melton is making progress as a defender but has been a great gunner on special teams.

Arizona Cardinals rookie Max Melton has become a dual threat with his progress at cornerback and also on special teams as one of the gunners on punt coverage.

His defensive snaps have increased throughout the season, although there were fewer in Sunday’s game against the Seahawks because of an illness that had him out of practice on the Thursday before the game.

He was back at practice Friday with full participation without an injury status, but was then downgraded to questionable early Sunday morning.

Head coach Jonathan Gannon said what happened on game day was that Melton “woke up sick, ill. I think it actually started a little bit in the middle of the night, and then I honestly didn’t think he was going to be able to play. (He) kind of rebounded and could play. We got him in there though. I thought he played well on teams, especially well on teams. He played some snaps on defense.”

Melton explained his ordeal to Cards Wire noting that “I had full body aches, headaches, chills, sweating. My neck swelled up and I couldn’t eat, had weight drop. Literally everything that could go wrong with your body was going wrong. I was getting better until I woke up on the plane when we landed in Seattle and everything came back. That night at some more and felt a little better when I went to bed.

“When I woke up, it was crazy. But the doctors, they did a good job making sure I was good to play. By the time I hit the bus on the way to the stadium, I figured I could play. When I got to the stadium, I thought I could definitely play. Shout out to our medical staff; it was all them. By the time kickoff came, I felt like myself again and during the game, I was feeling great.”

His defensive snaps were 44 percent after playing 79, 100, 97 and 62 the previous four games.

Meanwhile, special teams coordinator Jeff Rodgers loves the job Melton and Joey Blount are doing as gunners.

“When you have dominant gunner play, not that we’ve dominated all the time this season, (but) when you have dominant gunner play, you dictate to the return team that you’re either going to fair catch the ball or you’re going to do something about him. If you allocate resources to the outside, you don’t have as many things going on against the protection group. It certainly makes a difference when the gunners are playing well.

“And if they’ve got a skill set that mandates attention, that usually helps. And when you have two guys like that, now you got to make decisions because as special-teams coaches we’re in a unique position because we coach against players like Max and we have players like Max. So it’s what would we do against a player who’s playing really well at that position versus OK? Where’s the ball going? There are a lot of factors that play into it but having good gunners certainly helps your punter, your punt team, your field position all those things.”

Speaking of the punter, Blake Gillikin is excelling with a 49.5 average (11th in the NFL) and is tied for third in net average with AJ Cole of the Raiders at 44.3. Jacksonville’s Logan Cooke leads the league in net with 46.4 and Detroit’s Jack Fox is second at 46.1.

On 36 punts, Gillikin has 18 inside the 20, 12 have been fair catches, six were downed and only one resulted in a touchback.

Asked if he’s as consistent a punter as he’s ever coached, Rodgers said, “Yeah, I mean he’s had a good run; a good streak of games. His location, his hang time, his distance and he’s got a lot of things going for him. We gotta continue to cover it. We’ve gotta shore up some things protection-wise. I thought both gunners played really well in the game this week (and) Blake was pretty darn good.”

Against Seattle, he averaged 51.7 with a 50.2 net on six punts with four inside the 20 and four fair catches.

Rodgers also knows he likely won’t have Melton as a gunner for very long.

“Max is a really good player and he’s really fast,” Rodgers concluded. “He’s getting chances defensively and I think that he’s gonna progress and probably be a guy that won’t be playing gunner in the next few years. But that’s his role right now and he’s doing well.”

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Who was the latest Cardinals player to wear the Pat Tillman jersey in practice?

Eifler was honored as the scout team player of the week.

It was on Oct. 29 that linebacker Milo Eifler arrived in Arizona to try out for the Cardinals and to then be signed to the practice squad.

Four weeks later and after only his third week of practice with the team, Eifler had the honor of wearing the No. 40 jersey as Scout Team Player of the Week for his work prior to last week’s game against the Seahawks.

He said, “I got here before the bye and tried to get acclimated to a new team, new system (having been) in the league for a little bit and picking up what coaches ask, being very detail oriented. Coach JG does a great job of allowing the players to know their roles, but at the same time being able to expand their role.”

Eifler, who played college ball at Washington and Illinois, entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent with the Jets in 2021. He’s played 15 NFL games with three and 10 for the Commanders, respectively in 2021 and 2022, and then two for the Falcons in 2023.

He played mostly on special teams and had six defensive snaps for the Commanders in a 2022 game against the Eagles. He was with the Falcons throughout the offseason and training camp this year, but was waived/injured on Aug. 27, placed on injured reserve the following day and then waived from IR on Oct. 21 before coming to the Cardinals the following week.

Eifler said he had to “try and learn special teams, talk to (special teams) Coach (Jeff) Rodgers and understand that and my position coach Sam (Siefkes), trying to understand the defense, picking up the pace slowly, but surely really honing in (knowing) if you’re a practice squad guy, the majority of the time you’re going to be a scout team guy.

“So making sure I’m putting in a little extra time watching the opposing team, just so that the offense can get that right look and knowing their middle linebacker is probably their best player, you want to emulate how he’s going to play or the style that the defense is so that can help my game and help our team prepare.”

Eifler was born in February of 1998, two months before Tillman was selected in the seventh round of the draft. He also grew up in the Oakland area, not far from where Tillman spent his youth.

Eifler said it’s been great this week “kind of recognizing Pat Tillman and how he’s honored by this organization and he’s also being from the Bay. I’m a Bay Area guy, so it’s always good to represent the Bay Area.

“It’s just an honor knowing that he was a hard worker and I pride myself doing the gritty work and doing whatever it takes to help my team win. It’s an honor being able to put that jersey on and it gives you an extra chip on your shoulder.”

Noting how the Cardinals have preserved Tillman’s locker, Eifler said, “I took a picture of it and sent it to my family immediately. It’s nice having some recognition in the building.”

That family includes his adoptive parents David Eifler and Rachel Morello-Frosch, who both are professors at Cal-Berkeley.

Morello-Foesch has a master’s and doctorate degree in public health and teaches in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and School of Public Health. In 2021, she was on the White House Environmental Justice Advisory Council and the next year was elected a member of the National Academy of Medicine for being a “renowned expert on structural determinants of environmental health inequities” and a “leader in the application of community-engaged data science.”

Eifler said his mom, a breast cancer survivor, counseled him during the pandemic when he was deciding whether to play in 2020 at Illinois, which he did.

“Anything health related, she was kinda on top of it,” Eifler said. “She was so involved in COVID. I took care of my health with her help trying to broaden my horizons bigger than football.”

Which makes it important to him that he is wearing the jersey of someone that created a legacy beyond football.

Despite being from the northern California area, Eifler said, “I wasn’t aware of his name until I started playing for the Pac-12 at Washington. I wasn’t introduced to him at a younger age because I wasn’t around football until I started playing football pretty late in my junior year of high school.

“When I went to play at Arizona State (in 2017) and saw his statue, I realized the significance of what he stood for. Now being part of the organization, you can’t forget about it.”

2024 Pat Tillman Scout-Team Award Winners

Week 1: RB Michael Carter (practice squad)

Week 2: LB Markus Bailey (practice squad)

Week 3: WR Andre Baccellia (practice squad)

Week 4: OL Jon Gaines II

Week 5: WR Xavier Weaver

Week 6: DL P.J. Mustipher (practice squad)

Week 7: S Joey Blount

Week 8: WR Chris Moore (practice squad)

Week 9: OLB Ronnie Perkins (practice squad)

Week 10: QB Clayton Tune

Week 12: LB Milo Eifler (practice squad)

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

Cardinals-Vikings Week 13 preview with Vikings Wire

Vikings Wire managing editor Andrew Harbaugh joins Jess Root on the podcast to preview Cardinals-Vikings in Week 13.

The Arizona Cardinals face the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13 on Sunday from U.S. Bank Stadium at 1 p.m. ET.

To preview the game, Vikings Wire managing editor Andrew Harbaugh joined me on the latest edition of the podcast.

We discussed the Vikings’ season and the play of quarterback Sam Darnold. We looked at the game on Sunday, keys to who wins and important matchups.

We also give our predictions for the game.

Have a listen and enjoy!

Enjoy the show with the embedded player above or by subscribing to the show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, YouTube or your favorite podcast platform, so you never miss a show. Make sure as well to give it a five-star rating!

Times and topics:

(1:00) The Vikings’ season so far

(16:26) Cardinals-Vikings keys, important matchups

(30:38) Picks and predictions

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Cardinals-Vikings to get large TV audience in Week 13

It will be the No. 1 game on FOX on Sunday in Week 13.

The Arizona Cardinals will face the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday in Week 13. It was a game many thought could get flexed to Monday night. It wasn’t.

The game will kick off Sunday at 1 p.m. ET and will air on FOX.

While it will not have the national audience that playing on Monday night gives them, much of the country will be able to see the game.

According to 506 Sports, it will be the top game on FOX on Sunday.

Per the following graphic, the Cardinals-Vikings game will air in all the areas in pink.

So while it will not be a fully national audience, it will be much more than simply the home TV markets for the two teams.

Get more Cardinals and NFL coverage from Cards Wire’s Jess Root and others by listening to the latest on the Rise Up, See Red podcast. Subscribe on Spotify, YouTube or Apple podcasts.

How Zaven Collins is being like J.J. Watt to rookie Darius Robinson

Collins is doing for Robinson what J.J. Watt did for him when he was a rookie.

It’s been a long road for Arizona Cardinals rookie defensive lineman Darius Robinson, who appears to be trending toward making his NFL debut on Sunday in Minneapolis.

Edge rusher Zaven Collins arrived in Arizona as a first-round pick in 2021, so he understands the scrutiny those players receive.

When asked Monday about what advice he gives Robinson, Collins said, “People put an expectation on you. You’ve just got to go out and do you. Whatever it is, you’ve just got to go out and keep trying every day. Come to work and put your hard hat on.”

For Robinson, that focus has been recovering from a calf injury suffered on Aug. 22 and then dealing with the loss of his mom shortly after returning to practice on Oct. 9.

After the bye, he has now participated in four consecutive practices.

“There are certain situations that you can’t control,” Collins noted. “What he’s dealing with is; it’s a mental struggle and it’s hard because he wants to be out there and playing with us and help the team. So I get to talk with him and work with him and tell him, ‘You’ve got to just work on you, just keep doing you. And there are plenty of games left for you to come back and do everything that you wanted to do. There’s nothing that’s going to stop you from that.’

“So that’s really all it is. And he’s confident as ever and he’s ready to come back and do whatever it may be, but it’s definitely tough sometimes.”

Collins is surely impressed with what he has seen from Robinson when he was able to focus on football and also recalled his early days with the Cardinals when J.J. Watt mentored him.

“Hard worker. Great athlete, Huge, massive human, but he’s smart,” Collins said of Robinson. “He studies the playbook. He asks questions all the time. He and I stay after (practice); we were working on certain pressures the other day because I rush in 3-tech on certain third-down situations as well. But he’s always asking questions, trying to figure out stuff.

“I go back, this is weird, and I’m not saying I’m on his level, but J.J. would tell me what to do and like how to think on certain things. And I’m just trying to think of what he would tell me sometimes. And I’m nowhere near him. But I’m giving advice and how to see certain things, work on certain things so it’s nice. And he’s always wanting to learn, so that’s a good thing.”

Collins also referenced the fact that he’s not that much older than Robinson compared when he was a rookie that Watt was 32.

“He calls me big bro,” Collins said, “and then he’s like, ‘Damn, you’re only 25. You’re not big bro, you’re my age!’”

Meanwhile, Collins is also impressed with his fellow edge rusher Baron Browning, who has played two games after being acquired in a deal the day before the trade deadline.

“He’s awesome,” Collins said, while noting that Browning played most recently in coordinator Vance Joseph’s defense in Denver. Joseph was the Cardinals DC in Collins’ first two seasons.

“He picked up the defense like that,” Collins said, snapping his fingers. “He was with VJ and because I was with V when he was here, I would kind of use the terms that I remembered and the concepts and then basically transitioned them into this. We’re working on stuff, just one-on-ones and not really the pass rush, but like coverage stuff and then try to put it in our lingo.

“He was picking up on it like that. I feel like it’s easier than just learning it on an iPad. But he’s been awesome, asking questions. He wants to learn more and picked up the defense it feels like in two days, so he’s doing good.”

Collins joked about his college roots when asked if he knew anything about Browning before he arrived in Arizona.

“I didn’t,” he said. “I mean, when you go to a school like I did at Tulsa, there’s not a lot of people you know. You don’t play anyone. It’s like after the games I’d just kinda stand around and see the one person I know and then walk away. At Power 5 schools, everyone knows everyone.”

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