Arizona Cardinals stumble to lopsided loss against Minnesota Vikings

December 15, 12:23 AMPhoenix Sports ExaminerTom Kessler

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Seven days after celebrating a long-awaited division championship, the Arizona Cardinals came out flatter than a week-old cup of champagne, falling 35-14 at home to Adrian Peterson, Tarvaris Jackson and the Minnesota Vikings.

Peterson, the NFL’s leading rusher, amassed 165 yards on 28 carries while Jackson, filling in for the injured Gus Frerotte, threw for 163 yards and four touchdowns as the Vikings (9-5) posted their fourth consecutive victory to remain a game ahead of the Chicago Bears in the NFC North Division.

The Cardinals (8-6), who clinched the NFC West title on Dec. 7 with a 34-10 win over the St. Louis Rams, were hammered on Sunday by a hungrier and more-focused Minnesota team.

“It appeared to me in the game that we did not come out ready to play,” Cardinals coach Ken Whisenhunt said.

The Vikings steamrolled to a 28-0 halftime lead, scoring three touchdowns in the opening quarter and another in the second.

Minnesota receiver Bernard Berrian burned the Cardinals twice in the initial nine minutes, returning a punt 82 yards for a touchdown with 11:05 left in the first period and then catching a 41-yard scoring pass from Jackson with 6:39 remaining in the opening stanza.

The Cardinals responded to Berrian’s scoring reception by turning the ball over for a second time, as Anquan Boldin followed up an early Kurt Warner interception with a lost fumble that led to Minnesota’s third touchdown, a 6-yard pass from Jackson to Sidney Rice.

Peterson reached the 100-yard rushing plateau with seven minutes remaining in the second quarter, when he broke loose for a 32-yard dash that set up an 11-yard scoring pass from Jackson to Chester Taylor.

The Cardinals sliced their 28-point deficit in half during the third quarter, scoring on a 50-yard pass from Warner to Jerheme Urban and then on a 68-yard blocked field goal return by Roderick Hood.

The Vikings ended all suspense when they answered with a 59-yard strike from Jackson to Bobby Wade, a former University of Arizona standout, with 17 seconds left in the third.

Peterson’s 165-yard rushing output for the game increased his season total to 1,581 yards, eclipsing the Vikings’ franchise record previously held by Robert Smith, who ran for 1,521 yards in 2000.

The Cardinals, meanwhile, attempted only seven rushing plays in the game, gaining a paltry 43 yards on the ground.

Warner threw 45 passes, completing 29 for 270 yards with a touchdown and an interception. The Vikings were able to contain Arizona’s standout receiving duo, holding Larry Fitzgerald to five catches for 52 yards and Boldin to 34 yards on six receptions.

The Cardinals’ assignment doesn’t get any easier next week, when they’ll travel to New England to face the Patriots, who, at 9-5, are locked in a three-way tie for the lead in the AFC East.

The Cardinals are 0-4 in the Eastern time zone this season, losing road games to the Washington Redskins, New York Jets, Carolina Panthers and Philadelphia Eagles.