Vikings defensive coordinator Mike Tomlin couldn't be blamed if he questioned the value that goes with intense film study of opponents.
Arizona is the latest team to plant this seed of doubt. After Cardinals coach Dennis Green said last week that he would not abandon the run against the NFL's leading rushing defense, he "changed his mind" and did exactly that Sunday at the Metrodome.
The Cardinals, who had run the ball no fewer than 20 times in each of their 10 games this season, attempted six running plays in their 31-26 loss. Quarterback Matt Leinart, meanwhile, threw 51 times for 405 yards against a defense that was ranked 26th against the pass.
This came a week after Miami gained 4 yards on 13 rushes.
"It seems like every week I'm seeing something new," Tomlin said. "That's the beauty of this. I can't wait to see what happens next week."
The Cardinals gained 17 yards on six rushes, which tied an NFL record for fewest attempts in a game. The mark was established by the 1933 Chicago Cardinals against Boston and, according to Elias Sports Bureau, it was equaled by the New England Patriots in a 34-20 loss to Pittsburgh on Oct. 31, 2004. The previous low for rushes against the Vikings had been nine by Tampa Bay on Nov. 15, 1987.
The Cardinals really had five attempts Sunday because one came on a scramble by Leinart. Pro Bowl running back Edgerrin James was handed the ball four times. "It's their game plan," James said. "I'm just here, man."
Playing against a Vikings defense that spent most of the game in the nickel package to compensate for Arizona's use of multiple-receiver sets, Leinart completed 31 of his throws. The attempts, completions and yards were season highs against the Vikings, but the defense did not give up a touchdown until Anquan Boldin caught a 9-yard pass with 39 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter.
"When you've got that wall like we've got with 93 and 94 you are going to expect them to come out and spread us out," said safety Dwight Smith, referring to the run-stuffing tandem of defensive tackles Kevin and Pat Williams. "But it's going to be tough for a team to come in and throw the ball 50 times and win regardless of how many yards you put up. When you throw the ball, there is a slim room for error."
Smith took advantage of Leinart's errors Sunday, intercepting him twice. This included a pick on the last play of the game in the end zone on a Hail Mary pass. The defense also recovered two fumbles that were forced by linebacker Ben Leber.
While Leinart's numbers figure to cause the Vikings pass defense ranking to dip even lower, Tomlin didn't seem overly concerned.
"Stats are for losers from a yardage standpoint," Tomlin said. "We want to make it very difficult to get into our end zone, and we want turnovers.
"That's what's been disappointing at times with what's been going on recently as far as throwing the football. We have to have interceptions when people throw the football. We've got to apply pressure on the quarterback. We did that in spots. We kept them out of the end zone until late."
Judd Zulgad • jzulgad@startribune.com
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