What did we learn from the Minnesota Vikings upset victory over the Green Bay Packers?
Leaving the field with a win wasn’t supposed to happen for the Minnesota Vikings in their matchup against the Green Bay Packers.
Leading up to their divisional showdown on Sunday, the Packers and their 5-1 record had easily performed better than the Vikings so far this season. But none of that mattered when the two teams faced off this weekend in Green Bay.
With an extra week to prepare, Minnesota came out with a solid game plan that featured a heavy dose of Dalvin Cook. The Packers had zero answers for Cook and the Vikings suffocating rushing attack eventually resulted in them pulling off the upset over their NFC North rivals.
It was only Minnesota’s second win of the year, but it was a victory that proved this team can hang with just about anyone in the NFL.
The Vikings still have a ton of work to do if they have any hope of making the playoffs this season. But some of the biggest takeaways from Sunday’s win should make Minnesota’s chance of turning things around this year a little more believable.
Cook’s extension already looking like a bargain
Right before the start of the 2020 season, the Vikings and running back Dalvin Cook were able to agree to a five-year contract extension worth $63 million.
At the time of the deal, there were many who came out opposed to the idea of Minnesota giving a bunch of money to a running back. But Cook is not just a typical running back.
So far this season, Cook is playing like an All-Pro and his extension is already looking like it will turn out to be a bargain for the Vikings.
In his six appearances, the Minnesota running back has rushed for 652 yards and 10 touchdowns while also catching 14 passes for 127 yards and another score. Cook is currently on pace to find the end zone 27 times this year, which would be tied for the third-most during a single season in NFL history.
The Vikings running back currently has the fifth-highest average salary of any player in the league from his position group. Based on his performance so far this year, an argument can easily be made that he deserves to at the top of that list.
Cleveland rocks
With their only selection in the second round of this year’s NFL Draft, the Vikings decided to use their pick on former Boise State offensive lineman Ezra Cleveland.
After Cleveland spent most of his time in college as a left tackle, most assumed he would eventually replace Riley Reiff on the left side of Minnesota’s offensive line. However, the Vikings have been using the rookie in a different role this season.
Due to Pat Elflein and Dru Samia dealing with injuries, Cleveland was forced to fill in as the Vikings’ starting right guard back in their Week 6 loss to the Atlanta Falcons. He had a decent performance against the Falcons, but the rookie really stepped up his play during Minnesota’s win over the Packers on Sunday.
Cleveland played a key role in the Vikings offensive line being able to clear the way for Dalvin Cook to finish with 226 total yards in Green Bay. NFL Network’s Brian Baldinger did a great job at showcasing what Minnesota’s rookie offensive lineman was able to do well during a film breakdown he recently shared on his Twitter account.
@vikings @dalvincook did it all for the #Vikings with a whole lotta help from his offensive line who played like a convoy of Minnesota Snow Plow's #Skol #BaldysBreakdowns pic.twitter.com/SXjWcCzgy3
— Brian Baldinger (@BaldyNFL) November 2, 2020
The plan might still be for the Vikings to eventually move Cleveland over to left tackle and replace Reiff. But for now, the rookie is exceeding expectations as the team’s starting right guard.
Zim is still a defensive wizard
Before Sunday’s result, it’s been difficult to figure out why the Vikings were only able to end up with one win in their first six games this season.
Fingers have been pointed in multiple directions for Minnesota’s lack of success this year, including at head coach Mike Zimmer. The Vikings defense has struggled more than normal this season and that’s the part of the team that Zimmer has the most control over.
During the first half of Sunday’s game against the Packers, it didn’t look like the Minnesota head coach was able to come up with anything new during the bye week to fix his defense. Green Bay easily marched down the field and scored a touchdown on both of their first two offensive drives of the matchup.
But then the Vikings came out in the second half and held the Packers to just eight points in their final five drives of the game.
After giving up 81 rushing yards in the first half, Minnesota’s defense also held Green Bay to just 28 yards on the ground during the matchup’s final two quarters. Packers running back Jamaal Williams ended his day with a solid 75 rushing yards, but only 19 of those yards came during the second half.
With a secondary depleting by the minute, Zimmer also made the decision to have Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks help out in coverage on Green Bay receiver Davante Adams.
While Adams was able to haul in three touchdown passes (all during goal-line situations), he only finished with seven catches for 53 yards on Sunday. It was the first time he hasn’t ended a game against Minnesota with more than 100 receiving yards since 2018.
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The most impressive aspect of all the adjustments Zimmer made to the Vikings defense in the second half is that he was able to do it with a ton of inexperience out on the field. Minnesota was using a number of guys from the bottom of their defensive depth chart on Sunday, but thanks to the direction from their head coach, they were able to get the job done.