The Vikings offense has been dominant in the last two games, and the run game has been the biggest reason why.
With Dalvin Cook, Minnesota has imposed its will on both the Lions and the Packers defense, en route to two consecutive victories. But it hasn’t all been Cook.
Minnesota has also been stellar at blocking for him. With the offensive line, C.J. Ham and Irv Smith Jr. — the Vikings have been giving Cook a chance to make big plays.
So it’s a pretty big loss if Ham and Smith Jr. weren’t available to play Monday vs. Chicago. The two did not practice on Thursday and Friday, per the team’s injury report.
Despite that, Gary Kubiak gave a quote that should give Vikings fans a bode of confidence. The offensive coordinator said that Ham and Smith Jr. are ‘trending in the right direction’ to play on Monday night, per Andrew Krammer of the Star Tribune.
“If nothing else, I think playing Monday gives us a chance with a couple guys that have been nicked up,” Kubiak said, via Krammer. “We’ll see what happens, but I never worry about those guys being ready to play (mentally).”