The Minnesota Vikings are coming off of an embarrassing loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon. Now, the Vikings must forget about the result and prepare for the Los Angeles Rams on Thursday Night Football. In order to have a legitimate chance to win in LA, the Vikings running game must get better.
Minnesota Vikings Running Game Needs Improvement
Lack of a Rushing Attack for Minnesota
The Vikings enter week four of the NFL season with the second-worst rushing offense in the league. Through three games, Minnesota has just 198 total rushing yards and they have not reached the end zone on the ground. Dalvin Cook, who was inactive for Sunday’s loss to Buffalo, currently leads the team with a whopping 78 rushing yards. Cook has only averaged 3.0 yards per carry so far this season, while Latavius Murray has only averaged 3.6 yards on 17 carries. Dalvin Cook expects to be back this week.
Dalvin Cook is still taking his hamstring injury "day to day" and will see how he feels on Thursday. He notes that right now he's feeling good and that there's a good chance he'll play vs. Rams.
— Courtney Cronin (@CourtneyRCronin) September 24, 2018
Minnesota ran for 116 yards in the season opener against the San Francisco 49ers, but it has been downhill from then. In week two, the Vikings managed just 68 yards on the ground while trailing most of the game. Against Buffalo, the Vikings ran the ball just six times for 14 yards. That has been a theme early this season, as the Vikings average an extra yard per carry when they hold the lead than when they are trailing. If they are down early, the run game will never get going. Of the 204 offensive plays the Vikings have run this season, 116 have come while trailing. That is almost 57 percent of the snaps, yet they have only run the ball on 19 of those 116 snaps. As soon as the Vikings fall behind, they completely abandon the running game.
The #Vikings had 14 yards rushing on Sunday, which was the third lowest total in franchise history. The only games that were worse:
– 11/13/2005, 12 yards at NYG (a game they won thanks to a pick-six, KR TD, and PR TD)
– 10/28/1996, 11 yards in a 15-13 loss to the Bears— Eric Thompson (@eric_j_thompson) September 24, 2018
When Minnesota is backed up inside their own twenty, they rely far too heavily on Kirk Cousins. Despite having 35 snaps inside their own 20-yard line, the Vikings have only attempted six carries. Furthermore, the Vikings statistically run the ball better when in that scenario. On rushes inside their own twenty, the Vikings average 5.3 yards per carry, which is by far the best average by field position.
Rams Dominate the Point of Attack
The Rams have been unstoppable on both sides of the ball so far this season. Their offense has had no problems putting up points, while the defense has slowed down every offense they have played through three weeks. In week one against the Oakland Raiders, the Rams pulled away in the second half to win by 20. The Arizona Cardinals couldn’t even put up a fight as the Rams won 34-0. The Los Angeles Chargers have been the only team to put up a fight so far, and they were able to run the ball consistently. The Chargers ran the ball 20 times for 141 yards and a touchdown, and as a result they were within striking distance throughout the entire game.
The Rams have an explosive offense that can strike from anywhere on the field. In order to keep them off the field, the Vikings need to run the clock, which hasn’t been easy to do. The Rams can make opposing offenses one-dimensional and stop the clock with incomplete passes. Their front four can scare offenses away from running the ball and keeping the clock moving, making them a dominant force in the NFC.
The Rams have a deadly defense, led by Aaron Donald and Ndamukong Suh on the defensive line. Star cornerbacks Aqib Talib and Marcus Peters both left the game against the Chargers with injuries and may not be in the lineup for Thursday’s game.
Outlook for Thursday Night Football
The Vikings only held the ball for nine minutes in the first half against Buffalo. The lack of a run game kept the offense off the field and therefore kept the defense in on the action. That led to a totally gassed defense by the end of the first half, and the Vikings were not able rally a comeback.
Halftime: Bills 27, Vikings 0
Total yards: Bills 245, Vikings 47
First downs: Bills 13, Vikings 2
Time of possession: Bills 20:55, Vikings 9:05— Chad Graff (@ChadGraff) September 23, 2018
It’s safe to say that the Vikings need to establish the rushing attack and take some time off the clock against the Rams and continue to do so throughout the season. If not, the defense will not hold up and the losses will continue to pile. Obviously, it will be difficult to run the ball against the Rams, but the Vikings must stick to it and at least take some time off the clock when they can.
Minnesota already has injuries to the defense, most notably Everson Griffen. If Griffen is out this week as well, the Vikings will be extremely thin along the defensive line, so the less time they are on the field, the better. Six rushing attempts is unacceptable.
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