By Adam Roberts – 11/2/2020
On Twitter, we currently have a poll running that asks you whether the Packers’ 28-22 upset loss to the now 2-5 Vikings was more the result of Minnesota running back Dalvin Cook being very good, the Packers’ defense being very bad, or a combination of both.
As of 7:45 this morning, the vote was about 2/3 in favor of the combination option, and that certainly seemed to be the case at Lambeau yesterday afternoon.
Cook ended up with 226 all-purpose yards, including 163 on the ground, to go with all four of the teams’ scores on a day in which 72 hours ago it wasn’t even a given that Cook would be on the field. But in the back’s first game on the field since his injury against the Seahawks, Cook looked every bit the NFL’s leading rusher that he was prior to his injury. Despite everyone knowing that on a windy day at Lambeau the Vikings would be a run-first offense, the Green Bay D couldn’t do anything to stop Cook from start to finish.
“We knew exactly what they were gonna do in terms of they were gonna ride him” head coach Matt La Fleur said after being asked why this was the case. “We never put them in a situation where they had to drop back and throw the football…that’s something that we better get fixed, and we better get fixed fast.”
LaFleur now has to prepare his defense for San Francisco, a team that has had Green Bay’s number the last few years; the Packers haven’t won at San Fran since Week Four in 2015, and of course last year were defeated twice by a combined score of 74-28.
Cook meanwhile made some history yesterday, becoming the first player to score a touchdown on each of his team’s first four possessions of a game since the NFL-AFL merger in 1970. He credited his huge return game to the Vikings’ medical staff for getting him ready to roll, and noted that the windy conditions combined with a great day from the offensive line helped him rack up the yards as well.
“I was telling those guys all game how much of an impact it was having for me” Cook said ” and they was doin’ a great job all day. Commend the offensive line for keeping Kurt off the ground pretty much the whole day and giving the backs holes to run through, too.”
Cousins didn’t light the world on fire yesterday (11/14, 160 Yds, 1 TD), but managed the game well by not committing any mistakes and not giving Green Bay any opportunities for free scores.
While Green Bay gets ready for the 49ers, the 2-5 Vikings will head home this Sunday to take on the Lions, who lost 41-21 to Indianapolis yesterday.