The Minnesota Vikings enter Week 8 of the 2022 NFL season sitting in a comfortable lead in the NFC North. They’re also coming out of a bye that allowed the team to rest up and get healthy now heading into the final stretch of the regular season schedule. In Week 8, the Vikings return to the field for a matchup against the Arizona Cardinals at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Minnesota comes into the matchup against Arizona with a 5-1 record, sitting a few games ahead of the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears who are tied for second place at 3-4. The Detroit Lions are the bottom team in the NFC North at 1-5 entering Week 8.
The Vikings return to their home field this weekend to welcome the Cardinals, a location that the purple and gold have yet to lose at to this point in the season. And in Week 8, that winning trend will continue as they continue the winning ways that lead into the bye last week.
Three Reasons the Minnesota Vikings Will Win Against Arizona in Week 8
They Boast a Healthier Roster
One of the key things entering any game is the health of the roster and which players, if any, will be out in a game. For Minnesota, the bye week allowed it the opportunity to get the roster back to nearly full health with Arizona coming to town.
Between the bye week in Week 7 and this weekend’s Week 8 contest, the Vikings saw nearly every player who was on the injury report come off that list. The only player that is on the team’s injury report is wide receiver Jalen Nailor, who was a full participant in practice this week while recovering from a hamstring injury.
For Arizona, that isn’t the same case. The Cardinals have a total of 14 players listed on the injury report ahead of Week 8, notably tight end Zach Ertz, running backs James Conner and Darrel Williams, defensive end J.J. Watt, and others. That means Arizona could be short-handed or at least not up to 100 percent in the game.
With the mixture of Minnesota’s health and Arizona’s lack thereof, the Vikings should be able to take advantage of that to come out on top in the contest.
Success at Home
As we often see with teams throughout the league, Minnesota has seen plenty of success at home once again in 2022. The Vikings remain undefeated at U.S. Bank Stadium this season, winning all three games leading into Week 8 against the Cardinals. That success in front of their home fans should carry into this week for the Vikings, with a packed stadium making things difficult for another opposition that enters.
In three home games so far this season, Minnesota has been dominant on both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. The team is averaging 26.7 points per game at home, giving up 22 points to opposing teams on average. Offensively, the Vikings have averaged 285.3 passing yards and 1.7 passing touchdowns per game, also averaging 122 rushing yards and 1.7 rushing touchdowns a contest. Defensively, Minnesota has given up 248.3 passing yards and 0.7 passing touchdowns a game, allowing opposing teams to rush for 109.3 yards and 1.3 touchdowns on average.
The Vikings have been a dominant team at home once again this season, and they hope that trend carries over to Week 8 against the Cardinals.
Offense Poised for Big Game
The final reason Minnesota will come out on top in Week 8 against Arizona is the success the purple and gold have seen offensively. Along with that, the Cardinals have struggled defensively this year which should be something the Vikings take advantage of throughout the contest in Minneapolis.
Through seven weeks of games, Minnesota ranks 13th in the league with 23.2 points per game, also ranking 18th in the NFL in total offense with 339.8 yards as a team. In the passing game, the Vikings have averaged 242 yards through the air a game, which is the 10th-best mark in the league. On the ground, they rank 25th in yards per game with 97.8 rushing yards.
On the other side of things, the Cardinals have given up an average of 25.1 points (fifth-most in NFL) along with allowing the 11th-most yards per game with 359.7. In its pass defense, Arizona has given up 258.6 yards through the air per game, which is the eighth-most in the league. It has featured a solid run defense, giving up 101.1 yards on the ground per game (sixth-least in NFL) through seven weeks.
The mixture of Minnesota’s solid offensive unit going up against a group in Arizona that has had holes defensively should match up well for the purple and gold on Sunday afternoon in Minneapolis. In the end, the Vikings should be able to come out on top in Week 8 while improving to 6-1 on the year and extending their lead in the division entering Week 9.
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