Minnesota Vikings Week 5: Top takeaways vs. the Chicago Bears

New chefs in the kitchen

After Minnesota’s dynamic rookie Dalvin Cook was placed on injured reserve following his season ending ACL tear, questions were being asked about how the Vikings’ rushing offense would cope without him. While the Vikings signed Stevan Ridley mid-week to bolster their depth chart, the Vikings decided to rely on in house options as Ridley was surprisingly cut prior to Monday’s game.

After one game’s worth of action, the diminished Vikings group of running backs performed relatively well. Facing a Bears defense that had only allowed and average of 85.5 rushing yards per game prior to Monday night, the Vikings were able to gain 159 with 126 coming from the combination of Jerick McKinnon and Latavius Murray.

McKinnon was unquestionably the Vikings’ offensive player of the game as he overcame a fumble, which fortunately bounced out of bounds on the opening kickoff of the second half, to gain 146 yards from scrimmage. McKinnon’s biggest play of the night game on a toss play in the third quarter as he took advantage of fantastic downfield blocking to race away for a 58-yard touchdown.

Outside of that run, McKinnon was arguably more effective in the passing game than carrying the ball. He caught all six of his targets for 51 yards and led the team in receiving yards as he proved to be an adequate replacement for Cook in that aspect of the offense.

On the ground, McKinnon was given 16 carries and was largely bottled up averaging just 2.5 yards per carry excluding his touchdown run. While he may not offer the consistent threat that Cook did, McKinnon posses the speed and athleticism to take advantage of his blocking when it provides the opportunity a big play.

Latavius Murray saw his most significant action since signing with the Vikings as he carried the rock 12 times for 31 yards and contributing two catches for 12 yards in the passing game. Murray averaged 2.6 yards per carry and was solid rather than spectacular in doing so as he picked up the tough yards needed to gain a couple of key first downs. As he continues to recover from his ankle operation, Murray will hopefully continue to improve. Should he not, McKinnon looks set to become the team’s primary running back.

The Vikings rushing attack appears to be in reliable hands in Cook’s absence. Don’t be surprised if they have an equally impressive game against the Packers’ run defense who are currently ranked 22^nd in yards allowed per game.