-tier team -- Watford. LSU?running back Leonard Fournette will not play in Thursdays

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. Lite Racer Schweiz . U.S. District Judge Lorna G. Schofield in Manhattan agreed that lawyers on both sides could make their formal requests by Nov. 8. A hearing is scheduled for a day earlier. Jordan Siev, a lawyer for Rodriguez, wrote in a joint letter to the judge from lawyers on both sides that MLB lawyers planned to ask that the lawsuit be dismissed. Nmd Günstig Fake . JOHNS, N. http://www.nmdschweizkaufen.ch/ . Haas said he "felt a lot of pain" in his right shoulder when he slammed his racket to the ground in frustration after losing his serve at 3-3 in the first set. Nmd r2 Herren Schweiz . There are surprises among the Vezina candidates, but most of the others are standard top-tier performers, even if the two Hart Trophy runners-ups have never been quite as good as they have been through the first half of the season. Adidas Gazelle Schweiz . The Hall of Fame defenceman told Landsberg that he believes fighting still has a place in todays game, but thinks staged fighting needs be outlawed. PARIS -- Valentin Eysseric scored against his former teammates to send Nice three points clear at the top of the French league with a 1-0 win at Saint-Etienne on Sunday.Even without suspended top scorer Mario Balotelli, Nice was dangerous throughout and displayed its usual brand of attacking football. Having struggled to get past a well-organized defense in the first half, the visitors broke the deadlock after the hour-mark thanks to Eysseric, who played on loan at Saint-Etienne last season.The midfielder retrieved the ball on the edge of the area, dribbled past Loic Perrin and beat keeper Stephane Ruffier with a brilliant left-foot shot into the top corner.Though Vincent Koziello had been expected to start at Geoffroy-Guichard stadium, Nice coach Lucien Favre decided to give Eysseric the nod -- a move that paid off with the midfielders his first goal in 11 league games this season.Having slumped to its first league loss of the season before the international break, Nice bounced back with solid display. It could have added a second goal in the 65th minute when Alassane Plea sent a shot just wide, with Ruffier looking beaten.Saint-Etienne was the more threatening team in the first half and had several clear chances, with Nice goalkeeper Yoan Cardinale saving a couple of good headers.Nice reclaimed the lead from Monaco and Paris Saint-Germain, which both won at the weekend.----GUINGAMP 1, BORDEAUX 1Guingamp striker Jimmy Briand scored a last-minute goal to snatch a 1-1 draw against Bordeaux.The burrly striker equalized with a header deep in added time from Lucas Deauxs cross.ddddddddddddBordeaux had the match under control after Polish defender Igor Lewczuk bagged his first goal in the French league. Lewczuk headed in the opener after finding space in the box between two defenders and connecting with a free kick from Valentin Vada after 22 minutes.The visitors wasted a chance to increase their lead in the 77th minute when striker Jeremy Menez saw his penalty kick stopped by keeper Karl Johan Johnsson.Guingamp came close to an equalizer in the next minute but it was Bordeaux keeper Jerome Priors turn to shine with a save at his right post to deny a well-taken angled shot from Briand.Missing the penalty gave them a boost, Bordeaux coach Jocelyn Gourvennec said. Then it was a struggle, with long balls into the box, and thats how we conceded in a frustrating end to the match.Fifth-placed Guingamp remained two points above Bordeaux, and 10 points behind the leaders.---MARSEILLE 1, CAEN 0Marseille secured its first win under new coach Rudi Garcia, a lackluster 1-0 victory over Caen at the Stade Velodrome. Portuguese defender Rolando scored with a late header, ending a three-game winless run for the nine-time champions.After being ostracized by former coach Franck Passi, Rolando is enjoying a new lease of life under Garcia, who has made him a key player in his defense. ' ' '