4 takeaways from the Vikings Week 8 win over the Redskins

When in doubt, give the ball to Cook

Throughout Thursday’s matchup against the Redskins, the Vikings’ offense had themselves more than a few struggling moments.

During Minnesota’s first two drives of the night, they ran 13 plays and only one of them resulted in a gain of more than 10 yards. For the most part, Washington’s defense did a good job of taking away the Vikings’ ability to generate explosive plays.

Realizing the Redskins were doing their best to eliminate deep passes, Minnesota turned to a guy in Dalvin Cook who they knew could create explosive plays all on his own.

The Vikings ended up getting the ball in Cook’s hands 28 times against Washington and it resulted in him finishing with 171 total yards and one touchdown. Minnesota owes a lot to their running back for his performance on Thursday and without him, a victory would have been much more difficult to achieve.

With his numbers against the Redskins, Cook has now gained a total of 1,116 yards this season (823 rushing, 293 receiving). If he keeps playing at this impressive level, there’s a good chance that he will end the year as the second player in Minnesota’s history to gain at least 2,000 yards from scrimmage.