3 most disappointing Vikings from the win over the Bears in Week 18

Dalvin Cook – RB

Dalvin Cook ran the ball eleven times for 37 yards against the Bears. He was stuffed a few times right up the middle and also had a fumble that Chicago recovered, keeping this game much closer than it should have been.

At one point, he appeared to be injured, with some sort of damage to his lower extremities, but he did come back later and got a carry, looking just fine. Cook’s day wasn’t great but what really made it disappointing was that he looked inferior to Alexander Mattison.

Mattison had one less carry but averaged two more yards per tote. He rushed for 54 yards and two touchdowns on the day. Mattison ran with power and aggression, and it was clear he was much more excited about playing in this game than Cook was. Maybe that was the reason.

Cook knew this game didn’t mean anything and simply didn’t have the motivation to put forth his best effort, whether he was conscious of that or not.

Cook is one of the most explosive running backs in the entire NFL. His performance against the Bears wasn’t super impressive, but the Vikings will need him and his homerun ability at their best if they are going to beat the Giants in the Wild Card round.