Cardinals vs. Vikings 2012: Minnesota wins ugly, but wins nonetheless

Despite the offensive struggles, the Minnesota Vikings managed to edge out the Arizona Cardinals Sunday and move towards the top of the NFC North

Cardinals vs. Vikings final score: Minnesota holds on for 21-14 victory

Needing a huge performance from their star running back, the Minnesota Vikings got it as Adrian Peterson led the way in a 21-14 win.

Cardinals At Vikings: Andre Roberts Makes It 21-14

The second half has been an ugly display of football from both teams, but the Arizona Cardinals have finally broken through to get to within a touchdown of the Minnesota Vikings.

After the Vikings put together their fourth consecutive three-and-out of the second half, the Cardinals took over at their own 21-yard line after the punt. The Cardinals then moved the ball down the field via the air, with John Skelton hitting Larry Fitzgerald and Andre Roberts to get Arizona into Minnesota territory. Brian Robison registered his third sack of the afternoon, but it didn't matter, as the Cardinals just kept moving the ball downfield.

Skelton hit Roberts again to move the Cardinals down to the Minnesota 6-yard line, and on the next play Skelton found Roberts for a 6-yard touchdown pass. Jay Feely added the extra point to make the score 21-14 in favor of the Vikings.

The Cardinals have just failed to recover an onside kick opportunity, and the Vikings will attempt to run out the clock in this one and secure the victory.

With about 1:40 remaining in this one, the Minnesota Vikings still lead the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 21-14.

Cardinals At Vikings Score: Harrison Smith Gets His First NFL Score

The third quarter at the Metrodome has started off very nicely for the Minnesota Vikings, as they've gotten their first interception return for a touchdown in a very long time to put themselves ahead of the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 21-7.

The Vikings kicked off to begin the quarter, and after another Blair Walsh touchback, the Cardinals found themselves looking at third-and-six from their own 24-yard line. John Skelton dropped back to pass, and fired one for Early Doucet under heavy pressure. The ball wound up in the hands of Vikings' rookie safety Harrison Smith, who knew just what to do with it.

Smith managed to weave his way through traffic, and wound up getting the ball all the way to the end zone for a 31-yard interception return and a 21-7 Minnesota lead.

The play was the first Vikings' interception return for a touchdown since Jared Allen did it in the 2010 season finale against the Detroit Lions on January 2, 2011.

We're a minute or so into the third quarter at the Metrodome, and the Minnesota Vikings now lead the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 21-7.

Cardinals At Vikings Halftime: Minnesota Leads 14-7 At Half

The end of the second half was a little crazy, but it ended with the Minnesota Vikings holding a 14-7 lead over the Arizona Cardinals.

In what can best be described as an inexplicable play-calling sequence, the Vikings found themselves with third-and-2 2 deep in their own territory with 15 second left in the half. After calling a baffling time out, Christian Ponder threw his second interception of the day, this one brought in by linebacker Sam Acho. The Vikings managed to dodge a bullet when Cardinals' kicker Jay Feely missed the ensuing 47-yard field goal attempt to close the half, allowing the Vikings to maintain their 14-7 lead.

This writer has absolutely no idea what the Vikings were thinking at the end of the half. Honestly, none.

Adrian Peterson has had an impressive game for the Vikings thus far, carrying the ball 11 times for 92 yards and the game's first touchdown. Percy Harvin has four catches for 37 yards and a score. Christian Ponder has completed 7-of-10 passes for 54 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He's actually thrown more interceptions than incompletions at this point.

The Vikings have two sacks of Cardinals' quarterback John Skelton, both coming courtesy of defensive end Brian Robison. One of those resulted in a forced fumble that squelched an early Cardinals' scoring opportunity.

We're at halftime at the Metrodome, folks, and the Vikings are looking to move to 5-2 on the season. They're on the right track so far, with a 14-7 lead over the Arizona Cardinals.

Cardinals At Vikings: Percy Harvin Gives Minnesota The Lead Back

It's been a bit of a sloppy game at the Metrodome, but the Minnesota Vikings have taken the lead back against the Arizona Cardinals.

Minnesota started from their own 28-yard line, but an 8-yard run from Adrian Peterson and a 14-yard pass from Christian Ponder to Percy Harvin quickly had the Vikings at midfield. Peterson then broke off two runs for 29 yards, and the Vikings were knocking on the door.

The Cardinals appeared to have Minnesota stopped on a third down play, but a defensive holding penalty on Cardinals' defensive lineman Darnell Dockett gave Minnesota a fresh set of downs. Two plays later, Cardinals' cornerback Patrick Peterson was called for interference against Percy Harvin, giving the Vikings a first-and-goal situation.

On third-and-goal, the Vikings sent Harvin across the formation into the right flat, and Ponder found him for a three-yard touchdown. Blair Walsh added the extra point, and the Vikings went back on top by a score of 14-7.

That's where things stand at the Metrodome with about six minutes left until halftime.

Cardinals At Vikings Score: LaRod Stephens-Howling Ties It Up

The second quarter of play hasn't gotten off to quite the start the Minnesota Vikings wanted it to, and the Arizona Cardinals have tied things up at the Metrodome.

The Cardinals embarked on a very long drive to close out the first quarter, pushing the ball all the way down to the Minnesota 16-yard line. However, Brian Robison registered a sack of Cardinals' quarterback John Skelton, causing a fumble that was recovered by Kevin Williams to stop the Arizona drive.

That didn't last long, however. On the first play of the second quarter, Vikings' quarterback Christian Ponder rolled out to his right and attempted to connect with tight end Kyle Rudolph, but overthrew him badly and found linebacker Paris Lenon instead for his fifth interception in three games.

The Cardinals capitalized in there, as they took just four plays to get into the end zone. Running back LaRod Stephens-Howling took the ball over the goal line from three yards out to tie the score at seven.

With 12:41 left before halftime at the Metrodome, the Minnesota Vikings and the Arizona Cardinals are tied at seven.

Cardinals At Vikings Score: Adrian Peterson Gets Minnesota On The Board

After a bit of a false start, the Minnesota Vikings have drawn first blood in their match-up against the Arizona Cardinals at the Metrodome.

The Cardinals won the toss and deferred to the second half, meaning that Minnesota would get the ball first. Percy Harvin immediately electrified the Metrodome crowd with what appeared to be a 103-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. However, there was a little yellow flag on the field when the play concluded, and the penalty was for an illegal block on linebacker Marvin Mitchell, negating the big return.

The two teams then exchanged three-and-outs, with the Vikings starting their second possession from their own 12-yard line. Adrian Peterson got the drive off to a nice start with a 27-yard run to give the Vikings some space. Christian Ponder then looked to go deep to the returning Jerome Simpson, who didn't make the catch, but a pass interference call against the Cardinals moved the ball down to the Arizona 13-yard line.

Peterson finished things off from there, taking the ball in from 13 yards out for his first rushing touchdown since the season's opening week. Blair Walsh added the extra point, and the Vikings took an early 7-0 lead.

The scoring drive for Minnesota tallied 88 yards in just five plays, taking 2:57 off the clock.

We're about halfway through the first quarter at the Metrodome, and the Minnesota Vikings lead the Arizona Cardinals by a score of 7-0.

Vikings vs. Cardinals inactives: Jerome Simpson will play for Minnesota

Quarterback Kevin Kolb is inactive for the Arizona Cardinals on Sunday as they face the Minnesota Vikings.

The Cardinals will be without Kolb, safety Kerry Rhodes, cornerback Greg Toler, running back Anthony Sherman, linebacker Reggie Walker, guard Senio Kelemete and tight end Todd Heap.

With Kolb out six to eight weeks with injuries to his ribs and shoulder, John Skelton will start at quarterback for Arizona.

Rhodes was forced to leave the game in Week 6 against Buffalo with a back injury. After missing practice last week, he was ruled out of Sunday's game. Heap has not played since Week 2.

The Minnesota Vikings' inactive list for Week 7 is as follows: quarterback McLeod Bethel-Thompson, wide receiver Jarius Wright, cornerback Brandon Burton, safety Mistral Raymond, linebacker Audie Cole, offensive lineman Mark Asper and defensive end D'Aundre Reed.

Notably absent from the Vikings' inactive list is wide receiver Jerome Simpson, who has missed the last two games with a back injury. He will start Sunday against Arizona. Running back Adrian Peterson will also start after missing several practices last week with an ankle injury.

Cardinals vs. Vikings: Game time, TV schedule, injury updates and more

With John Skelton in to replace Kevin Kolb at quarterback, the Vikings are 7.5 point favorites to defeat the Cardinals.