Through six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings, Mike Zimmer’s post-bye record was an unimpressive 2-4. After beating the Green Bay Packers, Zimmer now sits at 3-4, largely due to Dalvin Cook’s brilliance. Cook, to the delight of all his fantasy owners, had an amazing day: 163 rushing yards, 63 receiving yards, and four touchdowns. Put simply, the Vikings won because of Cook’s performance.
Dalvin Cook Carries Minnesota Vikings
The Opening Half
The first half was almost entirely consumed by four drives. Each team had two long, clock-killing possessions that led to touchdowns. Minnesota’s defense had no answers for Davante Adams. Green Bay’s defense had no answers for Dalvin Cook. Green Bay got a third possession with 0:31 left in the second quarter. Thankfully, even Aaron Rodgers – in all his splendor – couldn’t turn his final drive into points.
Rodgers ➡️ Adams: a Sunday tradition
pic.twitter.com/gzgsWK5i5K— PFF (@PFF) November 1, 2020
Minnesota’s defense largely failed to contain Adams. Adams is among the best route-runners in the NFL, so there’s no shame in struggling to stop him. What was concerning, though, was Minnesota’s inability to even slow him down. We kept track of all of Adams’ targets throughout the game, and it’s ugly for the Vikings. We’ve included the Viking responsible for covering Adams in brackets.
- Target 1: Catch (Cameron Dantzler)
- Target 2: Catch, TD (Jeff Gladney)
- Target 3: Catch (Kris Boyd)
- Target 4: Incomplete (Mark Fields)
- Target 5: Catch, TD (Gladney)
- HALF
- Target 6: Catch (Eric Kendricks/Boyd)
- Target 7: Incomplete (Kendricks)
- Target 8: Catch (Harrison Hand)
- Target 9: Incomplete (Gladney)
- Target 10: Catch, TD (Josh Metellus)
The Vikings, quite evidently, didn’t have a player who could singlehandedly stop Adams. Seven catches on six different Vikings. Minnesota’s best defense, then, rested in continuing to feed the ball to Cook. At the half, Cook had 74 yards and two touchdowns.
The Second Half
The second half began with more Dalvin Cook brilliance. Cook opened with a 35-yard run, immediately putting the Vikings in advantageous position. A few minutes later, the Vikings took their first lead of the game on another Cook touchdown run. Shortly thereafter, Minnesota added to their lead. On third and nine midway through the third, Cook took a screen pass fifty yards for a sensational touchdown.
EVERYONE STOP TALKING AND WATCH DALVIN SCORE HIS FOURTH TOUCHDOWN pic.twitter.com/UfOv2x8r2n
— Nick Olson (@NickOlsonNFL) November 1, 2020
On defense, Minnesota found a way to slow Rodgers. Green Bay still found some room to move the ball, largely because of Adams’ impact. Adams had a gravitational pull on Minnesota’s secondary, opening plenty of room for his teammates.
Even still, Zimmer’s defense played considerably better. Green Bay had a shot to get back into the game toward the beginning of the fourth quarter. On a critical third and nine, Zimmer called a blitz that that saw Kendricks and Gladney hitting the same hole, forcing Jamaal Williams to leave a blitzer free. The pressure forced an incompletion. On fourth and nine, Anthony Harris locked down Robert Tonyan, leading to a turnover on downs. Adams went on to secure a third touchdown pass with just under three minutes to play, and the Packers converted their two-point conversion. It was a six-point game, and Vikings fans were likely to have flashbacks to the Seattle Seahawks game. The Packers got the ball back again with no timeouts and 0:47 left to play. With 12 seconds left, D.J. Wonnum, God bless him, secured a strip-sack on Rodgers to end the game.
Looking Ahead
If the Vikings got blown out on Sunday, Rick Spielman likely would have continued to press into Minnesota’s rebuild. Instead, the Vikings will likely keep their core together as they prepare for the Detroit Lions in Week 9.
In the opening six weeks of the season, Minnesota would have lost this game, as their one-point losses against the Tennessee Titans and then the Seahawks suggest. Cook simply didn’t allow the Vikings to lose, though. Indeed, he accomplished something that no one has before in Lambeau Field history: more than 200 yards from scrimmage and four touchdowns. In so doing, Dalvin Cook ensured the Minnesota Vikings secured an unlikely, remarkable win.
