The Minnesota Vikings allowed the Cardinals to stay close in this game because of some big mistakes, but they held on to prevail.  The Cardinals returned the opening kick-off 99 yards for a TD.  The Cards also recovered a Chester Taylor fumble and returned it 99 yards for a TD!

Brad Johnson stuck to the short stuff and had a productive game as he completed 27 of 41 passes for 271 yards and 3 TDs.  Chester Taylor was busy with 27 carries for 136 yards (5.0 ypc) and a TD.  He also caught 3 passes for 35 yards.  Marcus Robinson led the receivers with 7 catches for 82 yards and a TD.  Travis Taylor added 5 catches for 56 yards.  Jermaine Wiggins had a decent game with 6 receptions for 52 yards.  Billy McMullen and Jeff Dugan each caught a TD pass.

Antoine Winfield led the way on defense with 13 tackles.  Dwight Smith had an outstanding game with 6 tackes and 2 interceptions.  The Vikings held the Cards to 17 yards rushing on 6 carries (2.8 ypc).  The Cards completed 31 of 51 passes for 395 net yards thru the air.

The game was a tight one, but the Vikings got a much needed win to improve to 5-6 on the season.

The Vikings offense had two huge turnovers in the 4th quarter that led to their loss against the Dolphins.  Reynaldo Hill returned a Chester Taylor fumble 48 yards for a TD and Jason Taylor intercepted a screen pass from Brad Johnson and raced 51 yards for a TD.

Brad Johnson completed 26 of 44 passes for 262 yards and an INT.  Chester Taylor carried the ball 28 times for 80 yards (2.9 ypc) and scored 2 TDs, but he lost 2 fumbles.  Mewelde Moore carried the ball once for 14 yards and caught 5 passes for 32 yards.  Travis Taylor caught 8 passes for 67 yards and Jermaine Wiggins caught 6 passes for 66 yards.

The defense played very well for the Vikings.  Dwight Smith (7 tackles, fumble recovery) and Antoine Winfield (5 tackles, INT) led the way on defense.  The Vikings held the Dolphins to -3 yards rushing on 14 carries (-0.2 ypc).  The Dolphins completed 26 of 42 passes for 254 net yards thru the air.

It might be time for the coach to consider benching some of his offensive players.

These are two teams going in different directions.  The Vikings have looked awful the last three weeks, losing all three games by a combined score of 63-27!  The Dolphins have turned up the defense the last two weeks and shut down the Chiefs & Bears in wins.

The Vikings will just run their offense and hope they have some success moving the ball against the tough Miami Dolphins defense.  Look for the Vikings to lean on the running game with Chester Taylor running to the left behind Bryant McKinnie and Steve Hutchinson.  The Dolphins can be run on as they’ve allowed 99.8 yards rushing per game, but you have to stick with it because they only allow 3.4 yards per carry.  Look for Brad Johnson to take a couple deep shots to Bethel Johnson and Billy McMullen who both played well last week.

The Dolphins will go with what has worked for them and try to run the ball with Ronnie Brown.  Brown has rushed for 246 yards the last two weeks…..both victories.  The Vikings defense has been tough so far allowing only 66.6 yards rushing per game and 2.9 yards per carry.  The Vikings do allow 225.0 net yards passing per game, so Joey Harrington could have some success throwing the football.

Look for this to be a close, low-scoring football game.  The winner will be the team that protects the football better.

Starting FB Tony Richardson fractured his forearm Sunday but still wants to play in next week’s game in Miami.  Reserve linebacker Jason Glenn will miss the remainder of the season after he tore his ACL in loss to Packers on Sunday.