4 biggest takeaways from the Vikings Week 5 loss to the Seahawks

Cook should probably sit out next week

During the first two quarters in Seattle on Sunday night, Vikings running back Dalvin Cook was unstoppable. Cook went into the locker room at the half with 94 total yards (65 rushing, 29 receiving) and one touchdown.

But then Minnesota’s historical bad luck struck again and the top running back suffered a groin injury early in the third quarter. Cook attempted to see if he could play through his injury a little later in the matchup, but the pain proved to be too large and he watched the majority of the second half from the sideline.

Following Sunday’s game, Vikings head coach Mike Zimmer said that the running back would undergo an MRI on Monday, and then they’ll be able to figure out how severe his injury is.

But here’s the thing. Even if Cook’s injury is just a minor one, Minnesota should rest him for their upcoming matchup with the winless Atlanta Falcons. The Vikings have their bye after their game against the Falcons, so the running back would actually get an additional week to let his injury recover before potentially returning in Week 8.

If Minnesota’s goal for this season is to still earn a spot in the playoffs, then they need to make sure Cook is available during the final stretch of their schedule. Alexander Mattison and Mike Boone did a great job filling in for the Vikings starting running back when he went down on Sunday and there’s no reason to think they can’t do it again against a winless Atlanta team next week.