5 Bold Predictions: Minnesota Vikings vs. Washington Redskins – Week 8
By Chris Schad
Cook will have another monster game
There haven’t been many backs in the NFL that have been doing what Dalvin Cook has done this season. The third-year running back has found his health in 2019 and the result has been a career year that has him currently leading the NFL with 725 rushing yards.
Even more impressive than Cook’s yardage or his yards per carry (which ranks sixth at 5.5) has been his consistency. He has either ran for over 110 yards or scored a touchdown in each of the Vikings’ first seven games this season and he has topped the 130-yard mark three times. In short, Cook is basically a blow-up waiting to happen.
This week’s opponent shouldn’t provide much resistance to his stellar season. The Redskins rank 29th in rushing yards allowed this season and 24th in Football Outsider’s DVOA run defense metric.
All four members of Washington’s defensive line also rank in the top 60 of Pro Football Focus’ run-stop metric, but their highest is Ryan Anderson, who ranks 20th with a 10.3 percent clip.
With the Redskins having trouble penetrating opposing backfields, Cook should be able to get to the second level and create big gains. If the game gets out of hand and the Vikings can get out to a big lead early, this could also be a contest where Alexander Mattison has a great night too.