5 things to watch during the Vikings game vs. the Cardinals

Can the Vikings contain Murray?

Rookie quarterbacks are something that usually makes Mike Zimmer salivate as he draws up his game plan. But in the case of Kyler Murray, it may give him a couple of headaches this week.

Murray’s history with new head coach Kliff Kingsbury has been well-detailed as the former Texas Tech coach once recruited Murray to play for him before he chose Oklahoma.

Last year, Kingsbury mentioned that if he had the No. 1 overall pick in the NFL Draft, he would choose Murray and after he was hired by the Cardinals, he sent Josh Rosen packing to stay true to his word.

In a league where smoke is pumped around at a nauseating basis, Kingsbury went against the grain and did exactly what he said he was going to do. That means he has some plan in place for Murray and he could send the quarterback’s 4.3-second, 40-yard dash time wheels in motion.

That type of scenario has been a bad one for the Vikings in recent years as mobile quarterbacks have seemed to get the best of them.

If Minnesota can keep Murray in the pocket, there’s a good chance he won’t be able to put on the show that most are expecting to see in the desert this season and it will make everyone feel great about the state of the Vikings’ defense.