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The Minnesota Vikings and Arizona Cardinals have faced off more than you might think throughout their history. Including playoff games, the Vikings have played only ten NFL teams more than the Cardinals. (Arizona's previous iterations as the St. Louis Cardinals and Phoenix Cardinals are included.) The series has been fairly even as well.
As we do every week, it's time to take a look at what these two teams have done against each other over the years, courtesy of Pro Football Reference. The things like point totals and win streaks will be a reflection of regular season matchups only between these two squads.
Total Games Between the Vikings and the Cardinals: 26 (24 regular season, 2 postseason)
Head-to-Head Record: Vikings, 15-11 (2-0 postseason)
Total Vikings Points Scored, Head-to-Head: 636 (24.5 points/game)
Total Cardinals Points Scored, Head-to-Head: 570 (21.9 points/game)
Longest Vikings Winning Streak Against Cardinals: 5 (12 November 1995 to 12 November 2000)
Longest Cardinals Winning Streak Against Vikings: 4 (6 November 1977 to 30 October 1983)
Most Recent Vikings Home Win In Series: 21 October 2012 (Final score 21-14)
Most Recent Cardinals Road Win In Series: 6 November 1977 (Final score 27-7)
Biggest Vikings Home Win In Series: 27 points, 13 October 1991 (Final score 34-7)
Biggest Cardinals Road Win In Series: 42 points, 6 October 1963 (Final score 56-14)
Current Streak: Cardinals, 1 victory
There have certainly been a couple memorable Vikings losses in this series--the infamous Nate Poole catch that knocked the Vikings out of the playoffs in 2003 and last year's last-second sack of Teddy Bridgewater to seal a Cardinals victory immediately jump to mind. But the Vikings' record at home against the Cardinals has been pretty incredible. The last home game in 2012 was notable because the Vikings won despite Christian Ponder throwing for 8 completions, 58 yards, and 2 interceptions. I was at that game, and let's just say it wasn't the most aesthetically pleasing victory I have ever seen.
The 2012 win wasn't an anomaly though. The Vikings have won eight consecutive home games against the Cardinals. In fact, the Cardinals have never won in Minnesota since moving the franchise from St. Louis.
Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer has had a good amount of success against Minnesota in his career. Palmer is 3-1 as a starter against the Vikings with a 7:1 touchdown to interception ratio and 105.2 quarterback rating. Each of Palmer's wins over the Vikings have been with a different team: first with the Bengals, then the Raiders, and last year with the Cardinals.
Sam Bradford hasn't enjoyed as much success against the Cardinals throughout his career. He is 4-4 against Arizona in his career with 10 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Bradford's first career game was against the Cardinals, a forgettable 17-13 loss where he threw three of those interceptions. The only two games of Bradford's career where he didn't complete at least ten passes were both against Arizona in 2012. The last time he faced the Cardinals was last year with the Eagles. He was 28 for 39 with 361 yards but Arizona throttled Philadelphia 40-17.
There's your quick look at the history between the Arizona Cardinals and the Minnesota Vikings leading up to this weekend's game at US Bank Stadium. Hopefully the Vikings can end their current losing streak by keeping their home winning streak against Arizona alive.