Vikings Might Be without Offensive Engine in Must-Win Game

Dustin Baker   |  

Sep 24, 2021

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Minnesota Vikings tailback Dalvin Cook injured his ankle in the Week 2 loss at the Arizona Cardinals. casting his availability into doubt for Week 3.

The Seattle Seahawks travel to Minneapolis for the first time in six years this weekend while the Vikings face a must-win situation. If Minnesota falls to Seattle for the eighth consecutive time, the team’s chances of rejuvenating the 2021 campaign out of a 0-3 hole are grim. As of now, the Vikings still have a reasonable chance to reach the postseason.

Head coach Mike Zimmer needs all the tools on his roster to effectuate the mission. The only problem? Dalvin Cook — the team’s offensive engine — may not play.

Cook has not practiced this week, and most followers of the team believed he would do so on Friday at the latest. He didn’t.

The Vikings are not incapable of toppling their irritating, dominant foe sans Cook, but the assignment is trickier. The offense runs through Cook when he’s upright. And for the most part since the start of 2019, Cook has remained healthy. In 2017 and 2018, his first two professional seasons, Cook was rarely on the field consistently. It was the only knock on his bag of tricks — health.

The injury bug is buzzing in his face yet again.

Strangely, Minnesota has encountered little problem circumventing Cook’s absences since 2017. Much of the success without Cook is attributable to Minnesota’s gangbusting 2017 defense, rest assured. Yet, here’s the win-loss voodoo with and without Cook:

In 2017, the team somehow trucked along on offense with Case Keenum and Latavius Murray [without Sam Bradford and Cook]. The defense was the catalyst as the team finished 13-3, losing in the NFC Championship to the Philadelphia Eagles.

They’ll need some of that 2017 magic on Sunday at U.S. Bank Stadium. And the opponent is ruthless. Russell Wilson is easily a Top Three quarterback leaguewide, showcasing his ease in disposing of the Vikings seven straight times. For Minnesota to reign victorious on Sunday, the defense absolutely must clamp down for the first time this year. To date, Zimmer’s 2021 defense is disappointing, placing as seventh-worst in the NFL for points allowed. The 2021 season has essentially been a woeful continuation of the 2020 campaign — and the defense is to blame.

Alexander Mattison is the next man up if Cook is indeed sidelined. He rushed for 112 yards on 20 carries last season in a one-point loss to — you guessed it — the Seahawks. Notably, he failed to convert a 4th and Inches play which would’ve ended the game with a Vikings win. Perhaps he’ll seek redemption if he gets the nod on Sunday.

Too, the Vikings may pass the ball more — a welcome sight for fans obsessed with throwing the football. There’s a bizarre tendency so far in 2021 that insinuates the Vikings haven’t passed the ball enough. Well, Cook is their number-one-with-a-bullet commodity, so the franchise will not shift focus away from the Florida State alumnus — unless they’re forced. That might occur this week.

Regardless, Minnesota is throwing the ball early in the game at a Top 12 clip:

This will potentially spike inside a Cookless offense. Fans will rejoice.

The other interesting note on this week-long Cook saga? The team doesn’t seem too concerned about Cook’s availability.

Therefore, Zimmer is either confident the team will win without him — like they’ve done several times before — or Cook will play.

Seattle is favored by one point to defeat Minnesota. Cook is officially listed as questionable. 

Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).