Vikings will have a big day on the ground (with or without Cook)
Heading into Sunday’s game, the biggest storyline (again) will be the health of several players. A majority of the players that were banged up before the bye were able to take the field in Seattle, but the biggest injury of all may be the shoulder injury that knocked Dalvin Cook out of the game on Monday night.
As usual, the Vikings have not been willing to share information about Cook’s shoulder and Mike Zimmer listed the dubious distinction of Dalvin doing “fine,” before employing a death stare to urge the room to move on to the next question.
But while Dalvin Cook declared “I’ll be out there Sunday,” during a media session on Thursday, the truth is the Vikings might be able to get by no matter who is in the backfield against this Lions rushing defense.
Detroit comes into Sunday’s game ranked 23rd in rushing defense, but that doesn’t tell the story about how bad they’ve been at stopping the run. Damon Harrison Jr. (aka “Snacks”) practiced in full on Wednesday but sat out on Thursday as he’s been dealing with knee and calf issues. If he’s unable to go for the second straight week, it leaves a gaping hole in the middle as Harrison ranks 33rd in run-stop percentage (8.1%) among defensive tackles this season.
With Da’Shawn Hand also dealing with an ankle injury, the Vikings’ run-first approach should be front and center as Cook has had a history of destroying Detroit.
In four career games against the Lions, Cook has rushed for 370 yards and three touchdowns including a 5.7 yards per carry average. Those numbers could be even bigger had Cook not torn his ACL in his first meeting with the Lions in 2017 and was limited in his second matchup in 2018, but also include a 142-yard, two-touchdown performance in Detroit in Week 7.
Even if Cook isn’t ready to go, Alexander Mattison has looked up to the task by averaging 4.8 yards per carry on the season. If the Vikings want to hold Cook out, Mattison could still be in line for a big game as they seemed primed for success either way.