Arizona at Minnesota


Playoff roster


Depth chart


Statistics


Playoff history

	Frank Sanders led all NFC receivers with 89 receptions this season.

A playoff game against the Cowboys at Texas Stadium. The Cardinals have beaten the Cowboys exactly once in their last 17 meetings, and they lost to them twice this year by a combined score of 73-38. Those two games were the only ones Arizona played all season against a team that finished with a winning record.

But don't automatically count out the Cardinals. If the NFL has learned anything in the last three weeks, it's that no lead is safe when Cardinals quarterback Jake Plummer is around. The last time the Cardinals and Cowboys met, in fact, Plummer almost led Arizona back from a 28-0 deficit before losing 35-28.

Offense
The offense succeeds despite a shaky line, although in the last month the Cardinals have had a lot of yards and not much scoring to show for it. ... Plummer, a second-year player, can be erratic, but he has led nine comeback wins in his first 26 games as a starter. He's mobile, a must behind that line, and isn't afraid to take a risk.

Halfback Adrian Murrell is one of the league's more underrated runners. Despite the line woes, he has given the Cardinals a viable running attack all season. ... Wide receivers Frank Sanders and Rob Moore and fullback Larry Centers give Plummer a variety of excellent targets. All rank among the top 15 pass-catchers in the NFC.

Defense
The defense has run hot and cold, taking a nose dive when injuries hit but bouncing back in recent weeks even though tackle Eric Swann had a second knee surgery and was lost for the year.

Without Swann, tackle Mark Davis (ankle) and middle linebacker Ronald McKinnon (knee), the run defense suffered. But with Davis, McKinnon, cornerback Tom Knight (hand) and safety Tommy Bennett (ankle) slowly working their way back to health, the defense has become respectable in December. ... Ends Simeon Rice and Andre Wadsworth, a pair of No. 1 draft picks, are quality pass-rushers.

Pro Bowler Aeneas Williams holds down one corner, and rookie Corey Chavous has been a pleasant surprise filling in for Knight at the other.

Special teams
When erratic kicker Joe Nedney was lost to a knee injury a month ago, the Cardinals signed Chris Jacke, a proven clutch kicker who was last seen winning a Super Bowl ring with the 1996 Packers. Jacke, mysteriously out of football for almost two seasons, has won the last three games with buzzer-beating field goals. ... Despite the threat presented by return man Eric Metcalf, both the kickoff and punt return teams rank in the lower one-third of the NFL.