2021 Position Recap: Running Backs

2. Mattison racked up a career-high 113 rushing yards against the Lions in Week 5 to help Minnesota notch an NFC North victory.

With Cook sidelined with an ankle injury, the Vikings called on Mattison – and he answered the bell. The running back averaged 4.5 yards per carry on 25 rushes and kept the Lions on their toes. He also caught all seven balls thrown his way for 40 receiving yards and a touchdown.

The score occurred late in the second quarter, when quarterback Kirk Cousins connected with Mattison on a 15-yard touchdown that put the Vikings up 13-3. Mattison caught the ball at the 10, ran through one tackle, spun free from another defender and powered his way through a pile that gathered at the 2 with some assistance from Vikings offensive linemen.

1. This one is a tough one to include, because a case can be made that Cook didn’t fumble before he was down.

Minnesota’s Week 1 game at Cincinnati went into overtime after the Vikings rallied from a 24-14 fourth-quarter deficit with a Cook touchdown and a 53-yard field goal by Greg Joseph. After the Bengals and Vikings exchanged unsuccessful series, Minnesota got the ball back for a second time and was driving toward a winning score.

On first-and-10 from the Bengals 38, Cook received the handoff and dropped the ball, though, after contact with Germaine Pratt. It appeared that Cook should have been ruled down, but officials called the play a fumble and recovery by Cincinnati.

Seven plays later, the Bengals kicked a 34-yard field goal for the win.

2. Minnesota held its destiny in its hands: In order to stay in playoff contention, the Vikings had to defeat the Packers on Sunday Night Football.

Things certainly didn’t go as planned, however, and Green Bay routed Minnesota 37-10 at Lambeau Field.

The Vikings managed a pitiful 27 rushing yards on a frigid evening. It marked the lowest total on the ground since Week 3 of the 2018 campaign, when Minnesota totaled 14 rushing yards against Buffalo.