The Minnesota Vikings are one of only four winless teams in the National Football League as we hit the quarter-pole of the 2011 season. The Vikings currently sit at 0-4, not having lost a game by more than a touchdown, and already four games behind two teams in their division, as the only two 4-0 teams in the NFL both happen to occupy spots in the NFC North.
Their opponents this Sunday, the Arizona Cardinals, have had some issues of their own to deal with. After a victory in their season opener against the Carolina Panthers, the Cardinals have dropped three in a row, blowing second-half leads in each of those cases. They allowed the Washington Redskins to come back from an eight-point fourth-quarter deficit to lose 22-21 in Week 2, and allowed the Seattle Seahawks to come from behind in Week 3 to beat them, 13-10. Last week against the New York Giants, the Cardinals led 27-17 with just over three minutes left in the game, but allowed the Giants to score two touchdowns in the final three minutes to lose 31-27.
The last game between these two teams was a pretty memorable one as far as on-field action is concerned, as the Vikings hosted the Cardinals in Week 9 of the 2010 season. The Cardinals had a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter, and stopped the Vikings on fourth down at the Arizona 1-yard line with just over six minutes left in the ball game. However, Brett Favre brought the Vikings back behind a career-high 446 yards passing, leading the Vikings on two touchdown drives at the end of regulation. After the Vikings stopped the Cardinals on the first possession of overtime, the Vikings moved downfield and got in range for a 35-yard field goal by Ryan Longwell to give Minnesota a 27-24 victory.
Kickoff for this one is scheduled for noon Central time, and the game will be shown on Fox.