3 problems the Vikings need to fix before Week 13 vs. the Cardinals

The Minnesota Vikings enter Week 13 with an impressive 9-2 record as they welcome the streaky Arizona Cardinals into U.S. Bank Stadium. It was quite the struggle to make it to that ninth win last weekend, as the Vikings' matchup against the Chicago Bears was a rollercoaster.

Nevertheless, Minnesota has locked up a winning season and finds itself firmly embedded in the NFC playoff race, currently holding the fifth seed and having a 98 percent chance at postseason football.

Even with a 9-2 record, Minnesota showed some weaknesses this past weekend, especially in the final moments of the game, when the team should have easily secured the win. If the Vikings want to secure their 10th win on the season on Sunday, they will look to fill some of the holes that showed up this weekend in Chicago.

With that being said, what are some of the issues the Vikings will look to fix before their matchup against Arizona this weekend?

Problems the Minnesota Vikings must fix before Week 13 vs. the Arizona Cardinals

1. Contain mobile QBs

First, we need to give credit where credit is due. Bears rookie quarterback Caleb Williams played a stellar game this past weekend.

The Vikings actually played some solid defense against Chicago, but Williams was making impressive plays that you had to tip your cap to. With that being said, there was more that Minnesota could have done to thwart the career day by Williams.

Williams was able to scramble consistently against the Vikings, creating time for his receivers to get open, and he even put together 33 yards rushing himself. Minnesota is about to face off against another prolific scrambling quarterback in Kyler Murray, and the Vikings need to find a way to contain his game-breaking ability.

Completely stopping a star player like Murray is impossible, but Minnesota needs to throw looks at the Cardinals that stop him from leaving the pocket and using his legs. Williams was able to show holes in the Vikings' defense, and Murray will look to exploit those issues even more, as he has shown time and time again that he is capable of taking a game over by himself.

2. Redzone offense

Minnesota has a red zone issue. Currently, the Vikings are 21st in the NFL in red zone touchdown percentage, with an iffy 53.85 percent conversion rate.

If the Vikings want to be seen as a true threat, they need to figure out a way to get in the end zone more consistently when they're in the red zone. Minnesota's red zone issues have been highlighted in recent weeks, as they have only a 35.7 touchdown percentage in their last three games.

The biggest cause for the Vikings' red zone struggles was highlighted this past weekend against the Bears, as it was pointed out that Minnesota hadn't had a second-half rushing touchdown in 27 straight games.

While this was an issue that was highlighting the second half of football, it brought to light the real struggle of Minnesota's run game and its inability to hit pay dirt.

The Vikings cannot rely on their passing game to score all their points, and their ineffectiveness while running the ball in short-yardage situations is only going to make things tougher for their entire offense moving forward.

3. Protect Sam Darnold

Sam Darnold has done a good job of escaping pressure this season and not taking too many big losses, but the amount of times that he gets pressured is concerning. Darnold has also taken his fair share of sacks this year, as Minnesota is averaging nearly three sacks allowed per game this season, a bottom 10 rank in the NFL.

The Vikings gave up three sacks last weekend to a solid Chicago defense, the same defense hadn't recorded at least three sacks since Week 6 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While the Bears are a formidable opponent, it is not a good sign when you're allowing sub-par teams in the sack category to get to your quarterback so often.

There isn't a magical fix to make the Vikings' offensive line protect better, and not having Christian Darrisaw at left tackle certainly doesn't help. But Minnesota needs to figure out a way to decrease the amount of times that Darnold is getting sacked and pressured in Week 13.

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