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The Vikings are a different team without running back Dalvin Cook — that was evident in Week 6’s loss to the Falcons, where the offense managed a measly 32 rushing yards on 13 carries without Cook, who was out with a groin injury.
Built to hog the ball and drain the clock, the Vikings will need Cook to return to the field if they stand any chance of beating their border rival in the Green Bay Packers, who are enjoying a 5-1 season polar opposite season to the Vikings’ 1-5 start.
Offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak had some telling words of Cook’s status during his weekly radio interview with KFAN.
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Cook’s ‘Back to Work’
Kubiak offered optimism that Cook is ready to re-join team practice, saying “it’ll be good to get Dalvin [Cook] back on the practice field today and get back to work,” Vikings Territory’s Sean Borman reported.
There were no reports from practice on Monday of whether Cook was in attendance or not, however, Kubiak’s statement aligns with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero’s report that there’s a “99.999 percent” chance that Cook will play on Sunday.
“I am told this is not a major injury… they just want to get Cook healthy,” Pelissero said before the Vikings-Falcons game. “One source told me it’s a 99.999 percent chance that Cook will be ready to face the Packers.”
Cook was the league’s leading rusher through five weeks despite missing the second half of the Seahawks game on Sunday Night Football. It was on the first play from scrimmage in the second half when Cook caught a screen pass and immediately seemed hampered by the groin strain. He went back to the locker room and returned for one play before the Vikings decided to hold him out.
He currently is the league’s fifth-leading rusher with 489 yards in 5.5 games played and is tied for first with seven rushing touchdowns this season.
Cook In Store For a Heavy Workload If He Plays
If the Vikings are going to compete on Sunday against the Packers, they will need to establish the run, which they failed to do early in Week 1 when Cook had six carries for 18 yards in the first half.
Against the Seahawks and the Texans, the Vikings dominated time of possession by churning out over 40 rushing attempts in each game. Cook had a career day against the Titans in Week 3, rushing for 181 yards as the Vikings took Tennessee to the wire.
Kirk Cousins killed any chance of establishing the run against the Colts and Falcons by throwing three interceptions in each of those games. The Vikings failed to surpass 100 rushing yards on the ground in both games, where the Vikings ran the ball fewer than 20 times.
Opening up the screen game could give Cousins a chance to get comfortable and allow Cook to find the open field. Meanwhile, expect the Packers to create the same pressure on Cousins they did in Week 1.
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Trevor Squire is a Heavy contributor covering the Minnesota Vikings and journalism graduate from the University of Minnesota — Twin Cities. Connect with him on Twitter @trevordsquire and join our Vikings community at Heavy on Vikings on Facebook.