By Adam Roberts – 10/16/2020
Fantasy football players, you might want to check your lineups.
One of the more productive running backs in the NFL, both from a fantasy and real-life perspective, is out this week.
Vikings back Dalvin Cook suffered an injury in the second half of the team’s loss at Seattle, and will not play this Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons. Head coach Mike Zimmer said Cook’s groin injury has kept Cook from performing at the necessary level to compete, and so the Viking offense will now turn to Alexander Mattison to pick up the slack.
Mattison had plenty of touches filling in for Cook last weekend, rushing 20 times for 112 yards. Minnesota has high expectations at the position for good reason; Cook currently leads the league with 489 yards.
It also figures to be a big day for Mattison, as the Falcons’ defensive line, and pretty much the entire team for that matter, has been much maligned so far in 2020. The defense has allowed 551 rushing yards and gives up an average of 32.3 points per game. Throw in the fact that this will be the team’s first game since firing head coach Dan Quinn and GM Thomas Dimitroff. Former defensive coordinator Raheem Morris takes over as head coach this week, and Jeff Ulbrich takes over as DC.
Mattison figures to be a popular running back selection this week across fantasy leagues, and Vikings’ fans can only hope he can play the stopgap role well with all the uncertainty surrounding Cook.