6 biggest takeaways from the Vikings loss to the Eagles in Week 2
By Luke Parrish
Justin Jefferson is the entire offense
Dalvin Cook does what he can, but the simple fact is that Justin Jefferson is the only consistent threat on this offense. Adam Thielen has been a non-factor through two games and Dalvin Cook is not creating enough yards on his own in the run game. If this team is going to make noise, Justin Jefferson will have to put up 100 yards nearly every single week from here on out.
Even though Jefferson was limited in this one, it was clear that the team would continue trying to feed him the ball. Receivers are going to have quiet weeks. Jefferson’s just so happened to come against one of the best cornerbacks in the NFL.
When Jefferson gets shut down, the entire offense follows in his footsteps. Cousins began forcing the issue and things turned sour in a hurry for Minnesota. Darius Slay was all over Jefferson in coverage, but Cousins decided he would challenge him anyway.
As good as Jefferson is, he needs help from his counterparts. Thielen has been nowhere to be found and Irv Smith Jr. still has not broken out in a major way. If Cook cannot keep defenses honest in the run game, this may be a common problem for the purple this season.