The Minnesota Vikings have had yet another miserable week, on and off the field. The Arizona Cardinals don’t have a settled quarterback situation. Who will win this Sunday?

NFL Betting: Arizona Cardinals @ Minnesota Vikings

Online Betting Odds: Minnesota Vikings -9

Why To Bet On The Cardinals
Arizona’s best chance to win this game frankly comes from the other sideline. The Vikings have endured an awful week that goes far beyond their loss to the New England Patriots on Oct. 31, dropping them to 2-5 on the season when they were expected to be a leading Super Bowl contender. What made an already-lousy season even more unbearable is that the team waived receiver Randy Moss roughly one month after picking him up from the Patriots in a trade. Moss praised the New England organization after Minnesota’s loss in Foxborough, Massachusetts, last Sunday. Moss then complained at a team meal and did various things to cause unrest in the locker room. Viking coach Brad Childress had enough of Moss, and as a result, an organization lies in the midst of a great deal of wreckage. Team owner Ziggy Wilf lobbied hard to bring Moss back to Minnesota, but Childress is clearly operating at cross purposes and is rapidly exhausting whatever credibility he might still have. The Cardinals could very well be playing a Minnesota team that is distracted, mentally drained, and ready to give up on its 2010 season. The fact that Viking quarterback Brett Favre got knocked around in his last game (at New England) means that he might not be at his best. These various factors could all come into play and allow the Cardinals to swoop into Minneapolis and steal a win.

Why To Bet On The Vikings
The Vikings, for all their troubles, don’t have the quarterback problems the Cardinals are facing. Arizona quarterback Max Hall threw not one, but two pick-sixes in last Sunday’s home-field loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hall has been a disaster at quarterback for coach Ken Whisenhunt, who has clearly struggled to manage the team’s quarterback situation ever since the retirement of All-Pro and future Hall-of-Famer Kurt Warner. What’s amazing is not that Hall, a young and inexperienced professional, is throwing all these interceptions. What’s remarkable is that Whisenhunt – a coach who has reached a Super Bowl (and very nearly won it) – is sticking with Hall over Derek Anderson, another interception-prone quarterback but a guy who can move the team down the field. Either quarterback won’t inspire too much fear in the Vikings, but if the choice is Hall, Minnesota should really be able to thrive. The Vikings have been exposed by better teams this season, but the Cardinals are not a better team. Minnesota would have to commit numerous turnovers and alarmingly bad mistakes in order for Arizona to have a particularly good chance in this game.

How The Game Will Play Out
Plainly put, Minnesota will not make a lot of mistakes – perhaps a few, but not enough to really matter. The Vikings’ defense will excel, and a team that’s 0-4 on the road will get well at home in the Metrodome. Minnesota should win comfortably and cover the number.

Cardinals Vikings Betting Pick: Vikings