Coming off the field in a loss to the Seahawks last week, Jonathan Gannon's focus instantly shifted.
Of course, the Cardinals coach had to deal with the aftermath of their loss and plan to rehash and regroup for the Monday meeting, but he wasn't naïve to their upcoming opponent and environment.
It's why in his day-after interview he said Minnesota, in his opinion, is a tougher place to play than the hostile confines of Lumen Field.
"It's in a dome. It's loud. It'll be packed out," Gannon said. "There will be no Cardinals fans. They'll all be Vikings fans there. … It's a great place to play, a good environment. It's going to be a tough place to play."
Gannon, and others on the staff, have had experience coaching in Minnesota, so their opinions are backed by truth. Another component that can't be disputed is just how good the Vikings are as a team.
When first-round quarterback J.J. McCarthy tore his meniscus before the season, not many predicted Sam Darnold would lead the Vikings to a 9-2 record. However, Darnold has fit in within coach Kevin O'Connell's quarterback-friendly system.
It also helps that between Aaron Jones in the running game and Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison, and T.J. Hockenson in the passing game, Darnold has a plethora of options.
"The quarterback is playing phenomenal," defensive coordinator Nick Rallis said. "There are weapons all over. They're a well-balanced attack with a good scheme and a quarterback that's played at a high level. There's a lot of challenges that go into that and whatever you want to try and take away, there's going to be stress at other spots."
Rallis could possibly have some reinforcements available on Sunday with safety Jalen Thompson and rookie first-rounder Darius Robinson potentially making his debut.
While the Vikings offense has had its fair share of success, the defense pops off the stat sheet. Minnesota's unit is the top-ranked defense against the run, allowing only 75 yards per game.
This comes after the Cardinals pieced together one of their worst offensive performances of the season. In Kyler Murray's 76 career starts, the game in Seattle was only the third time the unit was held without a touchdown.
"We've got to establish the run early to get the flow of the offense," running back James Conner said. "Noise aside, we've got to execute so that we can stay on the field and try to get down to the red zone and get the ball in the end zone and put points on the board."
Under defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the Vikings are among the best at disguising schemes and confusing quarterbacks. It's one of the reasons why players like Jonathan Greenard have nine sacks on the season and the Vikings are top five in the league at getting to the quarterback.
With it being a tough environment and playoff football on the minds of both teams, Gannon said Sunday's game will come down to the basics.
"How we're going to have to play is significantly different than last week was because of different defense and different scheme," Gannon said. "Be on the details of that and make sure that we're winning the line of scrimmage and the run game will get going."
