GLENDALE, Ariz. — The Vikings started the 2020 season 1-5 because of two one-point losses. They have been outscored by four points in their first two games of 2021, but they are 0-2, heading home to face a quarterback they've never beaten in seven tries, because of a one-point loss they will rue for a long time.
Greg Joseph missed a 37-yard field goal wide right as time expired, giving the Cardinals a 34-33 win over the Vikings on Sunday at State Farm Stadium. The Vikings' home opener is next Sunday against Russell Wilson and the Seahawks.
On a day when Kirk Cousins provided a level of efficiency that countered Kyler Murray's electricity, the Vikings' biggest laments were on special teams: a botched Joseph extra point, a Dede Westbrook punt return from the Vikings' 6 that lost four yards, a squib kick at the end of the first half that put the Cardinals closer to a field goal.
They could also point to blown assignments on Murray's 77-yard second-quarter stunner, when the quarterback drew attention from defenders as he floated to his left and heaved a throw to Rondale Moore while the receiver stood alone along the Cardinals' sideline.
Cousins went 6 of 8 for 64 yards on the Vikings' final drive to set Joseph up for a 37-yard kick to win the game, but the Cardinals got pressure around the right side of the Vikings' line, and Joseph pushed the kick to the right.
At the end of the first half, Cousins and Murray had combined to throw five touchdown passes; they had four incomplete passes between them. Cousins had even used his legs to serve up two big plays of his own: a five-yard scramble for a first down that extended a Vikings touchdown drive, and a 29-yard run that exceeded his previous career long by 10 yards.
Even in the first half, the game felt like one that could be pushed one way or the other by a small mistake. For the second week in a row, the Vikings had one at the end of the first half.
Following Joseph's field goal with 25 seconds left in the half, the Vikings opted for a squib kick instead of letting Joseph kick deep. The Cardinals started their drive at the 34-yard line, and after Moore eluded tackle attempts from Mackensie Alexander and Eric Kendricks to slip out of bounds with one second left in the first half, Cardinals kicker Matt Prater launched a 62-yard field goal to put the Cardinals up 24-23 at halftime.
Arizona started the second half with the ball, but on Murray's first throw, the Vikings' defense responded with its own thunderbolt. Nick Vigil dropped into a zone and undercut Murray's throw to Moore, returning it 38 yards for a touchdown that gave the Vikings the lead back.
The Cardinals regained the lead with their fourth TD drive of 75 yards or more, and were driving again with a one-point lead late in the third quarter after Murray hit A.J. Green on a go ball for 29 yards against Bashaud Breeland. On a 2nd-and-9 from the Vikings' 38, though, Stephen Weatherly hit Murray as he heaved the ball deep, creating an easy opportunity for Xavier Woods to pick the ball off at the Vikings' 4.
The Vikings could only get a field goal out of the turnover to take a 33-31 lead, but their pass rush had started to affect Murray. The quarterback ran out of room to scramble with Danielle Hunter pursuing him to the perimeter, and instead was forced to throw downfield while backpedaling away from Vikings pass rushers.
Even with all the Vikings had done to rein Murray in after his electric first half, with all their two takeaways had meant to their chances, the quarterback had time for an indelible moment.
Dalvin Tomlinson and Hunter (who finished with three sacks) had pressured Murray on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter, and the Vikings sent an all-out blitz after him on a fourth-and-5 from the Minnesota 41. Murray fired deep for Christian Kirk, who was alone downfield with Alexander when the Vikings sent Woods and Harrison Smith, and Kirk caught the ball over Alexander for a 35-yard gain.
It would set up a go-ahead field goal following Cameron Dantzler's breakup of a third-and-goal throw that was behind Green while Murray was under pressure.
The kick turned out to be the last one that would go through the uprights.
