Cardinals clinch playoff berth with win over Vikings

The Arizona Cardinals clinched a playoff berth with their 23-20 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Thursday.

"We're in the playoffs. Don't know when or where but we're in," head coach Bruce Arians said during his postgame press conference.

In a close contest, the game came down to a strip-sack by veteran linebacker Dwight Freeney with 13 seconds remaining. It was a frustrating end for the Vikings, who were in field-goal range, but couldn't slow down a fierce Cardinals pass rush.

''That's why I came back, because moments like this, you can't duplicate those in life,'' Freeney said. ''To be able to have this type of dream situation, fourth quarter, game on the line, it's kind of like ninth inning, two outs, one of the situations for a defensive lineman, and I was able to make a play.''

The Vikings could've opted to attempt a 48-yard field goal on third down but ran a play instead, leading to the game-ending blunder.

The NFC North race has tightened, as the Green Bay Packers have momentarily taken ownership of first place in the division at 8-4. A win this weekend would put the Packers a full game ahead of the Vikings with a Week 17 matchup between the two teams looming.

At 11-2, the Cardinals now have a 3.5 game lead in the NFC West, and would clinch the division with a Seattle Seahawks loss on Sunday.