The Minnesota Vikings kept their strong start to the season intact, coming away with a 34-26 win over the Arizona Cardinals at home in Week 8.
Offensive spotlight: DeAndre Hopkins was arguably the best player on the field in a losing effort for the Cardinals. He caught 12-of-13 targets for 159 yards and a spectacular one-handed touchdown. Three of those receptions were contested catches.
Defensive spotlight: Za’Darius Smith was able to come up with multiple key sacks in the game, bringing down Kyler Murray twice even though his overall pass-rush win rate (10.3%) was far from stellar. Smith rushing from the interior is an athletic matchup problem for guards and centers.
Rookie spotlight: Rookie guard Ed Ingram had another tough day for the Vikings, rejuvenating the pass-rush performance of J.J. Watt. Ingram allowed a 14.3% pressure rate but did at least earn a solid run-blocking grade on first review.
Offensive line spotlight: Minnesota’s tackles were both excellent in this game, but the interior had significant problems even beyond the rookie Ingram. Christian Darrisaw is beginning to look like one of the best left tackles in the league. He earned a team-high pass-blocking grade on first review and allowed only one pressure on 42 such snaps.
Box Score
Passing
| Arizona Cardinals | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Kyler Murray | 29.64 | 31 / 44 | 326 | 7.4 | 3 | 2 |
| Minnesota Vikings | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Comp/Att | Yds | YPA | TD | Int |
| Kirk Cousins | 24.48 | 24 / 36 | 232 | 6.4 | 2 | 0 |
Rushing
| Arizona Cardinals | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Kyler Murray | 29.64 | 6 | 36 | 6 | 0 | 8 |
| Rondale Moore | 23.4 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 9 |
| Eno Benjamin | 8.5 | 9 | 22 | 2.4 | 0 | 7 |
| Darrel Williams | 3.4 | 5 | 8 | 1.6 | 0 | 5 |
| Minnesota Vikings | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Car | Yds | YPC | TD | Long |
| Dalvin Cook | 28.1 | 20 | 111 | 5.6 | 1 | 30 |
| Kirk Cousins | 24.48 | 4 | 22 | 5.5 | 1 | 17 |
| Alexander Mattison | 10 | 5 | 40 | 8 | 1 | 15 |
Receiving
| Arizona Cardinals | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| DeAndre Hopkins | 36.9 | 13 | 12 | 159 | 12.2 | 1 |
| Rondale Moore | 23.4 | 8 | 7 | 92 | 11.5 | 1 |
| Zach Ertz | 13.4 | 5 | 4 | 34 | 6.8 | 1 |
| Eno Benjamin | 8.5 | 7 | 4 | 23 | 3.3 | 0 |
| Darrel Williams | 3.4 | 3 | 2 | 6 | 2 | 0 |
| Greg Dortch | 2.2 | 3 | 2 | 12 | 4 | 0 |
| A.J. Green | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Robbie Anderson | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Minnesota Vikings | ||||||
| Player | Fantasy | Tgt | Rec | Yds | YPT | TD |
| Dalvin Cook | 28.1 | 6 | 5 | 30 | 5 | 0 |
| Justin Jefferson | 15.8 | 8 | 6 | 98 | 12.2 | 0 |
| Adam Thielen | 12.7 | 7 | 6 | 67 | 9.6 | 0 |
| K.J. Osborn | 8.8 | 5 | 2 | 8 | 1.6 | 1 |
| Johnny Mundt | 7.1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Irv Smith Jr. | 6.8 | 4 | 4 | 28 | 7 | 0 |
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