Vikings RB Dalvin Cook is ‘ready to go’ vs. Saints in wild-card round

Minnesota Vikings RB’s Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison returned to practice before their wild-card round game with the New Orleans Saints

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The New Orleans Saints will be facing a better version of the Minnesota Vikings than has taken the field in recent weeks, because star running back Davlin Cook is returning to the lineup. Cook missed the final two regular season games with a chest injury, but he’ll be rested and ready for the Saints during Sunday’s wild-card round game.

“It’s a long season. You go through a lot, your body takes a lot,” Cook told Lindsey Young of Vikings.com. “I got some rest, and I’m ready to go.”

Cook gained a team-leading 1,135 rushing yards and scored 13 touchdown runs in 14 games, a rate of 81.1 yards per game on the ground. He also ranked second-most in both receptions (53, on 63 targets) and receiving yards (519) for Minnesota, chipping in 37.1 yards per game through the air. He’s a dynamic weapon who should seriously threaten the Saints defense’s streak of 42 games without allowing a 100-yard rusher.

Additionally, Minnesota could be welcoming the return of backup running back Alexander Mattison, a rookie the Saints scouted during his career at Boise State. Mattison missed the last three games with an ankle issue, but he and Cook were each spotted at Wednesday’s Vikings practice in helmets, going through drills in their usual first- and second-string rotation. The Vikings offensive line remains vulnerable, but both of these runners are capable of creating something out of nothing, and that should keep the Saints defense wary.

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Vikings RB Dalvin Cook is ‘ready to go’ for playoff game vs. Saints

Cook missed the last two games of the season with a chest injury.

After missing the last two regular season games with a chest injury, it appears as if Vikings Pro Bowl running back Dalvin Cook is ready for the team’s wild card matchup against the Saints this Sunday.

“It’s a long season. You go through a lot, your body takes a lot,” Cook said via Lindsey Young of Vikings.com. “I got some rest, and I’m ready to go.”

Cook’s chest injury never seemed severe. The Vikings keeping him out seemed more precautionary to make sure he was indeed ready for the playoffs.

We saw just how good Cook can be in 2019 when healthy. Cook ran for 1,135 yards, eclipsing 100 yards in five of the team’s first seven games. Cook also added 53 catches for 519 yards.
The Vikings will hold their first practice of the week on Wednesday as they prepare for the Saints. It will be interesting to see how involved Cook is. Also keep an eye on rookie running back Alexander Mattison who missed the last three games of the season with an ankle injury.

Mike Boone could probably be a backup RB in 2020

Boon ran for 148 yards on just 17 carries to go with a touchdown in Week 17 against the Bears.

The Vikings’ game against the Bears on Sunday didn’t mean anything for the team considering they were already locked in as the sixth seed, but don’t tell that to running back Mike Boone.

While Boone fumbled in the first quarter, the second-year running back also had 148 yards on just 17 carries to go with a touchdown.

While the Vikings were playing the majority of their backups, the Bears were not, which makes this performance all that more impressive.

Boone ran for just 28 yards on 11 carries last week, but on the season, he now has 49 rushes for 273 yards (4.7 yards per carry) and three touchdowns.

Boone is just 24 years old. While the Vikings have both Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison at running back, Boone has proven he deserves to get carries in the league

The Vikings have Boone under contract for 2020 for just $660,000. With Cook’s injury history, it would probably be a good idea for Minnesota to keep Boone on the roster, even though he could probably do more elsewhere.

Report: Vikings leaning towards resting majority of starters

For anyone in daily fantasy leagues, staying away from this game is probably the best move.

The 10-5 Vikings are locked in as the sixth seed in the NFC playoffs making their Week 17 battle against the Bears meaningless as far as the standings are concnered.

Chicago is already eliminated from the playoffs.

With that, ESPN’s Courtney Cronin has reported that the Vikings are leaning towards resting the majority of their starters, including quarterback Kirk Cousins.

It’s a move that makes the most sense. Imagine if a key player to the team was to get injured before the playoffs started in a game that meant nothing.

The team will be resting linebacker Eric Kendricks (quad) and running back Dalvin Cook (chest) regardless.

For anyone in daily fantasy leagues, staying away from this game is probably the best move.

Cook and Kendricks ruled out for Vikings vs. Bears

The game means nothing for the Vikings, who are already locked in as the sixth seed.

We don’t know if the Vikings will play their starters on Sunday against the Bears in Week 17.

We do know, however, that starting running back Dalvin Cook (chest) and linebacker Eric Kendricks (quad) will not play. They have been ruled out due to injury. The two will have another week off before the wild card round of the playoffs.

Running back Alexander Mattison (ankle), cornerback Mackensie Alexander (knee) and safety Jayron Kearse (foot) are questionable.

We’ll know the official status of these players, and likely the rest of the team’s starters, 90 minutes before kickoff on Sunday morning (10:30 a.m. CT).

Report: Vikings leaning towards resting bulk of starters vs. Bears

The Bears might be facing Minnesota’s backups when they play the Vikings Sunday.

There’s no bigger reminder that the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings are headed in different directions than the fact that the Vikings look like they’ll be resting most of their starters Sunday against the Bears.

Because, unlike the Bears, the Vikings are preparing for the postseason.

While nothing is set in stone just yet, it sounds like the Vikings are focused on staying healthy heading into the playoffs. Win or lose, the Vikings will be the No. 6 seed when the postseason begins. Running back Dalvin Cook (chest/shoulder) has already been ruled out for Sunday’s game.

The Bears meanwhile will be treating their season finale like an ordinary game, where Matt Nagy insists he’ll play his starters. But he’s hinted that it could provide some opportunities for some of the younger players to get some valuable reps.

“Being able to go win the game is important to us,” Nagy said. “It does also, at the same time, present some opportunities … knowing kind of where they’re at and where we’re at. We’ll see where that takes us. I want to be smart about it. But at the same time if there is somebody we can get a chance to see, we want to be able to do that as well.”

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Vikings LB Eric Kendricks held out of Thursday’s practice

Kendricks hurt his quad against the Packers.

Vikings linebacker Eric Kendricks, who injured his quad against the Packers in Week 16, did not practice on Thursday as the team prepares to take on the Bears at U.S. Bank Stadium in Week 17.

With the Vikings locked in as the sixth seed, Kendricks will almost surely not play in this one.

The good news is that Kendricks was the only player held out of practice. Running backs Dalvin Cook (shoulder) and Alexander Mattison (ankle) were both limited.

Cornerback Xavier Rhodes (ankle), defensive tackle Shamar Stephen (knee) and safety Jayron Kearse (foot) were all full participants.

We’ll get the official injury designation for players on Friday.

Vikings tumble in power rankings after loss to Packers

After their 23-10 loss to the Packers on Monday Night Football, the Vikings fell to 10-5 on the season.

After their 23-10 loss to the Packers on Monday Night Football, the Vikings fell to 10-5 on the season.

And with that, they fell from No. 7 to No. 10 in USA TODAY’s weekly power rankings.

Here’s what Nate Davis had to say about the Vikings:

Less-than-inspiring Monday night performance (without Dalvin Cook) locked them into sixth seed and strongly suggested this will be one-and-done playoff outfit.

The Vikings are now locked in as the sixth seed in the NFC. They’ll play the Chicago Bears in somewhat of a meaningless Week 17 game. However, the Vikings probably want to see their offense click a bit after seeing how miserable it was in Week 16.

Cook likely won’t play in Week 17 so he can rest up for the wild card round of the playoffs.

Vikings vs. Bears Week 17 preview

The game doesn’t mean a whole lot for either team.

Chicago Bears (7-8) at Minnesota Vikings (10-4)
Sunday, Dec. 29, 1 p.m. ET, U.S. Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minn.

Bears’ keys to victory: This game doesn’t mean anything for the Bears. But it didn’t either in Week 17 last season when they beat the Vikings — though that Chicago team was playoff-bound. If this defense can put pressure on Minnesota’s offensive line and QB Mitchell Trubisky exposes the secondary, that could be the recipe for victory. The Vikings have had trouble in the past with mobile quarterbacks. Trubisky doesn’t run as much as he did earlier in his career, but if he does, the Vikings need to be on alert. 

Vikings’ keys to victory: Minnesota is already in the playoffs, but something that would make fans feel great heading into the postseason would be continued success from the defense. DE Danielle Hunter is in the conversation for Defensive Player of the Year for a reason. If he can get pressure on Trubisky early, it could be a very long day for a player who has already had a long season. 

Matchup to watch: Vikings QB Kirk Cousins vs. Chicago’s defense. Cousins has been one of the best quarterbacks in the league this season. However, he’s been really bad against the Bears in his three games against them as a Viking. That’s not exactly uncommon — the Bears have a really good defense. Cousins is 0-3 against the Bears in purple, completing 66 percent of his passes for just an average of 209 yards and a touchdown per game. 

Who wins? There will be a sense of pride for the Vikings, who haven’t beaten the Bears since 2017. RB Dalvin Cook won’t play, but Minnesota plays so well at home, they’ll take care of business even though regardless of what happens, they’ll be the No. 6 seed in the NFC. Vikings 23, Bears 16

Vikings RBs Cook and Mattison inactive, Mike Boone in line to start

Boone ran for 56 yards and two touchdowns in relief duty last week against the Chargers. 

As expected, the Vikings will be without running back Dalvin Cook (chest) and Alexander Mattison (ankle) on Monday night against the Packers.

Second-year running back Mike Boone will get the start and we’ll probably see plenty of Ameer Abdullah as well.

Boone ran for 56 yards and two touchdowns in relief duty last week against the Chargers.

Other than the running back position, the Vikings are relatively healthy. No other players are missing the game due to injury concerns.

Joining Cook and Mattison as inactives are defensive tackle Hercule Mata’afa, guard Dru Sami, tackle Oli Udoh, tackle Aviante Collins and defensive tackle Jalyn Holmes.