Vikings top Lions 34-20

Sep 11, 2017; Minneapolis, MN, USA; Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook (33) looks on and smiles during the fourth quarter against the New Orleans Saints at U.S. Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brace Hemmelgarn-USA TODAY Sports

Recap:

After a huge win against divisional foe Green Bay last Sunday, some in Minnesota Vikings media feared an emotional let down by this young Minnesota Vikings team/defense against another divisional opponent that, for whatever reason, has had Mike Zimmer’s number these past few seasons.

Any concerns about that, though, were quickly dashed as the Vikings came out playing at the same level (or dare I say… Better?) than they did in Lambeau, forcing the Matthew Stafford lead Lions to a quick three-and-out on the first series and also quickly/methodically moving downfield on their first possession thanks to positive run after positive run by the best running back in the NFL, Dalvin Cook, and efficient tosses from quarterback Kirk Cousins to this highly talented Vikings receiver/tight end corps.

If there was any criticism of Cousins in the opening drive, it’d be the fact that he dumped the ball off to Kyle Rudolph for “only” around 10 yards and a first-down as opposed to taking a chance at a deep ball touchdown to Adam Thielen (who appeared open down the field). However, the Vikings have found a recipe for success in spurts this season by dinking-and-dunking while riding on Cook’s back and that’s something that Cousins mentioned in the lead up to Sunday’s game.

I’m paraphrasing but essentially Cousins touched on the explosive plays this offense has had this season (among the best in the NFL) but said that sometimes it makes more sense to pick up the safe underneath first-down than go for a home run and that can be something that, while a perfect world scenario, helps the Vikings almost more than the home-run as it keeps this young/inexperienced/injury-plagued defense on the sidelines.

The Vikings offense is humming, though, with Dalvin scoring his league-leading 11th touchdown on the opening drive after a review gave him a TD on yet another positive run play by him, and while Thielen may have been robbed of a touchdown he also is tied for the league lead from a wide receiver with seven touchdowns on the season. It is worth noting that the reason that the Vikings offense was able to gash this Lions defense so easily on the opening drive is that the offensive line unit was able to start the game at or better than the level they played at against the Packers.

The top three graded Vikings in that game (not named Dalvin Cook) were Riley Reiff, Ezra Cleveland and Brian O’Neill and if that’s something that the Vikings can continue moving forward, then it might not be too far-fetched to think that the Vikings may make a playoff run (especially with all the injuries in San Francisco, as the NFC West may be the biggest impediment to the Vikings grabbing that expanded Wild Card spot).

Any “number” that Matthew Stafford appears/appeared to have against Zimmer and his defense seemed to disappear Sunday, though, as the Vikings were able to yet again stymy a Hall of Fame quarterback a la Russell Wilson and Aaron Rodgers. After three quarters Stafford was 20/29 for 171 yards, 1 touchdown and two interceptions, and ended up leaving the game after a scary hit to his head in the fourth quarter.

https://twitter.com/SeanBormanNFL/status/1325535156506157059

While that may have limited any comeback hopes for the Lions, they really weren’t getting much done before that as the Vikings were in control at every moment of this game. Chase Daniel came in after Stafford went down, a back-up QB that every Vikings fan remembers, but he too wasn’t very efficient against this stingy Vikings D (throwing an interception on his first drive).

Highlights:

Other highlights included Irv Smith Jr’s first touchdown of the season:

Dalvin Cook is LOOOSE

Justin Jefferson showing why he’s the best rookie wide receiver in the league

Dalvin Cook/Adam Thielen making people miss

Jaleel Johnson getting his nose tackle on and blocking AP from getting his revenge

Dalvin is the best running back in the NFL

This off-season during the phantom hold-out that Dalvin Cook started before any team activities were scheduled (for weeks/months), there were some in Vikings media/fandom that felt that Dalvin should be cut loose after his rookie contract expired as he had really “only had one good season” and was asking for a tremendous amount of money for any running back (as reports were that his agent started by asking for < Christian McCaffrey money), let alone one who had missed 50% of his first two seasons and also missed time during that “one good year”.

The Vikings, amazingly, aren’t dictated by media/fan sentiment and ended up extending Cook right before the 2020 season kicked off and while Cook has yet again missed time this season due to a non-contact soft-tissue injury, the move is proving to be a steal as Cook has somehow elevated his game from that “one good year”, putting together what is looking like one of the best single seasons from a running back in team history.

In the last two weeks alone, Cook has compiled 52 carries for 369 yards and FIVE touchdowns, and 107 yards receiving on four grabs (for another touchdown). In today’s game he had 22 carries, for 206 yards, a mind-blowing 9.4 average, and 2 touchdowns.

Man, am I glad I traded for him two weeks ago in the purpleTERRITORY Media fantasy league (for Joe Mixon and Calvin Ridley)!

Credit where credit is due

All in all the Vikings showed that they were able to build on their huge win in Green Bay and that calls for a #TankforENTERYOURFAVORITENCAAQBHERE/Fire Zimmer/Fire Spielman/Cut Cousins at eat $41 million in dead cap in 2021 were all premature. I’m as guilty as anyone for SOME of those, and I think that we need to give tremendous credit to this Vikings coaching staff, especially, as they’ve been able to really overcome a lot this season on defense to bring this Vikings team even to 3-5.

On Cousins, he was yet again more of a game manager this week which isn’t surprising when you have Dalvin Cook yet again showing that he is the best running back in the NFL and when you have receivers/tight ends who can do the above regularly. Cousins was X/Y for 3 touchdowns and no interceptions, something that a lot of Cousins-haters are probably saying proves he’s overpaid, but really shows just how next level Dalvin Cook is playing. Considering Dalvin’s two touchdowns on the day, it’s amazing to think that Cousins also had three passing touchdowns.

That efficiency by this Vikings offense this past couple of weeks (including the Seahawks game) is important as the Vikings are game-planning long/methodical drives and when you are able to do that it’s important to score touchdowns on every drive as you could end up with a gigantic lead in time of possession but only actually being up by 9 points if you’re only kicking field goals.

So, Cousins deserves credit for executing this game plan at the level he has, and he looks a lot more confident than he was earlier in the season. While a time will come where Cousins will need to air it out to keep up with an opponent, I feel a lot more confident in his ability to do that now now than I did eight days ago.

Just look at the touchdown drive that Cousins and company put together after the Lions got as close as they’d get all day with a minute and change left in the first-half. That showed guts and the ability to bounce back, something we also saw after that disastrous start to the second-half by the entire team in Seattle.

The Playoff Dreams are still alive!

I’ve said on my podcast(s) ‘Morning Joes’ a few times that my brain won’t allow me to be happy and that even in seasons where the team goes 7-1 I always look back at that one loss. This season/win brings similar feelings, but especially with how close two of those Vikings losses were (to the Titans and Seahawks), it’s hard not to think that this team could easily be 5-3 and in the mix for the NFC North title and a definite Wild Card spot.

But that’s short-sighted, as this Vikings team is clearly showing that regardless of what happens this season, they’ve got a blueprint for success that they can build on in the off-season. With this offense playing at the level they have and the defense rallying as they have despite the fact that they’re using 50th string corners, Zimmer deserves a lot of credit for this this turn-around (even if it ends next week against the Bears). With how they’ve played these last couple weeks, though, no one would be surprised if the Vikings topped the Bears next weekend, something that we all thought impossible a little over a week ago.

Here’s the upcoming schedule for the now 3-5 Vikings:

Stats:

Minnesota Vikings:

Cousins- 13/20 for 220 yards, 3 touchdowns and 0 interceptions

Rushing:

Dalvin Cook – 22 carries for 206 yards, 9.4 average, 2 touchdowns
Alexander Mattison – 12 carries for 69 yards, 5.8 average, 0 touchdowns

Receiving:

Justin Jefferson – 3 grabs for 64 yards, 21.3 average
Dalvin Cook – 2 grabs for 46 yards, 23 average
Kyle Rudolph – 3 touchdowns for 40 yards, 13.3 average
Adam Thielen – 2 grabs for 38 yards, 19.0 average
Ameer Abdullah – 1 grab for 22 yards, 1 touchdown
Irv Smith Jr. 2 grabs for 10 yards, 5.0 average, 2 touchdowns

Detroit Lions:

Matthew Stafford – 23/32 for 211 yards, 1 touchdown, 2 INTs
Chase Daniel – 8/13 for 94 yards, 1 touchdown, 1 INT

Rushing:

D’Andre Swift – 13 carries for 64 yards, 4.9 average
Adrian Peterson – 8 carries for 29 yards, 3.6 average
Kerryon Johnson – 4 carries for 29 yards, 7.2 average

Receiving:

Danny Amendola – 7 grabs for 77 yards, 11 average
Marvin Jones Jr. – 3 grabs for 43 yards, 14.3 average, 1 touchdown
TJ Hockenson – 5 grabs for 39 yards, 7.8 average, 1 touchdown

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