News » at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand.

MINNEAPOLIS -- When the season began, the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings were expected to be among the top teams in the NFC.The two teams had Super Bowl aspirations with talented rosters coming off last years playoff appearances. Minnesota started the year 5-0, while Arizona was 1/3 a month into the season.Since their undefeated start, the Vikings have lost four games in a row. The Cardinals (4-4-1) have used two wins against the San Francisco 49ers to jumpstart the second half of the season.Despite the differing paths, there is still a road to playoff contention as they meet Sunday in Minnesota.Weve been fortunate with some of the other things that have happened in the league that were still in a good place, Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said. We can go out and win. I know everybody thinks Im crazy, but my goal is to win the division. So, go out and get some wins and get going again. Thats all.The last two ball games have been (close and), honestly, could go either way. We didnt win them, so we just need to get a couple of these either-way games and win. Thats kind of what happened at the beginning of the season. So, its a seven-game season now.Minnesota is tied for the NFC North lead with the Detroit Lions at 5-4. Arizona is two games behind Seattle in the NFC West but still in prime wild-card position.Both teams have dealt with plenty of injuries, which will also impact Sundays game.The Vikings lost left tackle Jake Long for the rest of the season when he injured his Achilles in last weeks 26-20 loss at Washington. Long, signed as a street free agent in October, had already been an injury replacement at left tackle after starter Matt Kalil was lost after two games.Zimmer hasnt revealed his plans for his battered offensive line on Sunday. Jeremiah Sirles could join the starting lineup. Minnesota, which has also lost right tackle Andre Smith for the season, has T.J. Clemmings at the other tackle.Weve definitely been a little bit unfortunate as far as some of the injuries that weve had up front, quarterback Sam Bradford said. But like weve done in the past, we just have to keep moving forward. Obviously, Sirles and T.J., they started a couple of games together so we feel confident in them because theyve been out there, theyve done it before. Theyve played a lot of football. As bad as this is to continue to lose guys youve just got to try to stay positive and just keep moving forward.Arizonas injuries have hit hardest in the secondary.Safety Deone Bucannon missed Wednesdays practice with an ankle injury. Defensive back Tyrann Mathieu was limited in Wednesdays practice with a shoulder injury. Mathieu missed last weeks game with the injury. Both are questionable for the game.My shoulder feels fine, its stable for the moment, Mathieu told the Arizona Republic. Ill continue to put it to work during practice and see where Im at, at the end of the week.Cardinals coach Bruce Arians and Zimmer know each other well dating back to their time as coordinators in the AFC North. Arians was the Pittsburgh Steelers offensive coordinator facing Zimmers defenses for the Cincinnati Bengals.Ive always respected Zim as one of the most sound, aggressive defensive coaches that Ive ever gone against ... They dont beat themselves, Arians said via conference call. I think our defense, our defensive line is playing at a very high level right now. I think both offensive lines have their work cut out for them.Arizona owns the leagues second-ranked defense in terms of yardage, one spot ahead of Zimmers Minnesota crew. The Cardinals are allowing 295.2 yards per game compared to the Vikings 308.8 yards per game. But Minnesota is giving a league-low 16.9 points per game. Arizona is tied for third, giving up 17.8 points per game.I think this is going to be one of our biggest challenges of the year, Bradford said. Probably the best group that weve faced. So, I think its important that we have a great week of practice and get ourselves ready to go.Both teams also made significant special teams changes this week. The Cardinals brought back punter Drew Butler after Ryan Quigley didnt prove to be an upgrade the past six games. Quigley had the leagues lowest qualifying gross punting average at 41.6 yards per punt.Minnesota parted with embattled kicker Blair Walsh and signed Kai Forbath. Walsh had only made 75 percent of his field-goal attempts and hit just 78.9 percent of his extra-point attempts.It was just something we felt like we needed to do, kind of move forward, Zimmer said. Were all accountable for the things we have to get done, and I think we gave him a lot of opportunities. Although, Blairs a great kid, and it was hard to do. Its just part of the business.Business this week, for both teams, will be trying to stay in the playoff race. Wholesale NFL Jerseys Authentic . 8 Kansas to a 64-63 win over Texas Tech on Tuesday night. The freshman from Vaughan, Ont. Cheap Nike NFL Jerseys . This should be celebrated because it will not always be this way. With the amount of money given to players by their clubs these days, it is a wonder that so many of those teams allow the sport to continue to take away many of their assets so they can play for a different team in the middle of their season. http://www.authenticnfljerseys.net/ . -- Anaheim Ducks defenceman Luca Sbisa will be out at least six weeks with a torn tendon in his right hand. Stitched NFL Jerseys . -- Chicago Bears cornerback Tim Jennings was selected Monday to his second straight Pro Bowl, while guard Kyle Long made it after a solid rookie season. China NFL Jerseys . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Darius Dawkins tied a career-high with seven 3-pointers and scored 21 points to help Jacksonville rout Trinity Baptist 97-52 Wednesday night to close out the Red Diamond Roundball Classic.Jacksonville made 16 3-pointers to set a program record.J.R. Holder scored 15 points and hit the first of his three 3-pointers early to spark an 18-2 first-half run that broke the game open. Jacksonville led 46-18 at halftime and held the Eagles to 34 percent shooting from the floor (20 off 59).ddddddddddddDevin Harris scored 10 of his 15 points in the first half and the Dolphins (4-2) shot 49 percent from the field (34 of 69).Omar El Manasterly and Demontez Austin each grabbed 11 rebounds and Jacksonville outscored the Eagles in the paint 36-20. Freshman Tanner Rubio made seven assists.Gary Mims led NCCAA-member Trinity Baptist (3-6) with nine points. ' ' '