Vikings-Lions Notes: Dalvin Cook's Injury, Justin Jefferson's Quiet Game, Key Plays
The Vikings stunned the Lions on Sunday, rallying for a 28-24 victory on Kirk Cousins' touchdown pass to K.J. Osborn in the final minute. The win moves them to 2-1 on the season and keeps them in first place in the NFC North.
Let's go over a few postgame notes from U.S. Bank Stadium.
Cook avoids major shoulder injury
The Vikings came into this game knowing they wanted to make Dalvin Cook a focal point of their offense after he had a career-low six carries in Monday night's loss to the Eagles. He got the ball on their first two offensive plays, scored his first touchdown of the season in the second quarter, and was having a big game.
But with a minute left in the third quarter, Cook's day came to an end. On his 17th carry, he ran into teammate Ezra Cleveland, fumbled, and was removed from the game with a shoulder injury. With Cook's injury history — including past shoulder issues — there's a little bit of extra concern whenever he gets banged up.
However, it appears the Vikings' star running back avoided a major injury. Cook dislocated his shoulder, according to NFL Network's Tom Pelissero, which has happened in the past. Depending on how this week goes, Cook might be able to play with a harness on next Sunday.
Cook told head coach Kevin O'Connell after the game that he'll be out there when the Vikings play the Saints in London, but that'll depend on how he feels this week.
"He'll be day to day," O'Connell said. "We'll run some tests. We should have some time to hopefully get him turned over, and he already told me after we scored, I asked him how he was doing and he said, 'I'll be out there next week.' We'll do what's best for, obviously, Dalvin, and make sure that Tyler (Williams) and Uriah (Myrie) and our doctors make those decisions. But what a competitor, and I'm really proud of the work he put in today, knowing we would come back to him after not getting him the rock enough last Monday."
Cook finished with 96 yards and a touchdown on his 17 carries. Alexander Mattison, one of the league's better backups, ran for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to help the Vikings rally.
Jefferson has quiet game in victory
Justin Jefferson was hoping to bounce back with a big game this week after being held to six catches for 48 yards against the Eagles. Instead, he had an even quieter outing in Week 3. Cousins targeted him six times and found him on just three of those, totaling 14 yards. That's the fewest yards Jefferson has had in a game in his career, surpassing his previous low of 23.
Since exploding for 184 yards and two touchdowns against the Packers, Jefferson has nine catches on 18 targets for just 62 yards.
The Lions made a clear, all-out effort to not let Jefferson beat them. They used frequent double teams to help out cornerback Jeff Okudah, who played a good game. Jefferson also failed to come down with a couple catchable passes. At one point, he and O'Connell had a lengthy conversation on the sideline.
"It’s just one of those things with great, great players, in this league and the coaching that goes on, they do things to try to take away what you do best," O'Connell said. "I think the way we were able to run the football, the way we were able to get Adam (Thielen) and K.J. (Osborn) and some of these other guys (opportunities) in the passing game is because of Justin Jefferson dictating a lot of coverage, dictating how runs are fit, dictating how they play on the edges.
“Justin had a huge impact on this game, it just didn’t show up on the stat sheet. But that’s not good enough. I’ve got to do a better job giving Justin different aspects of lining up in different spots, different personnel groupings — whatever I need to do to help him, because he’s an ultra-competitor, and we’ll get him going."
Although he had just three catches, Jefferson drew a pair of defensive penalties. And as O'Connell pointed out, he wasn't sulking. Jefferson was fired up for Osborn after the Vikings' go-ahead touchdown.
"The first guy celebrating with K.J. Osborn when he scores that touchdown is Justin Jefferson," O'Connell said. "He's a great teammate. Although he doesn't have a 'C' on his chest, I know our guys view him as one of our leaders. And we relied on him today to maintain and just keep on pushing. I have a lot of respect for how Justin handled today, but put it on me obviously to do a better job to get him going."
Osborn finished the game with 73 yards and a touchdown. Thielen added 61 yards and a touchdown. Cook and Mattison ran the ball well. Irv Smith Jr., Johnny Mundt, Ben Ellefson, and C.J. Ham all caught multiple passes. The attention the Lions gave Jefferson played a role in everyone else having success.
"It’s frustrating, for sure, but I asked for it, just playing the way I’ve been playing, just being the type of player that I am," Jefferson said. "Those double teams and triple teams are going to come, but that’s the luxury of having Adam and KJ on the other side. Even when they want to double team me, I know somebody’s going to be open."
Jefferson will look to get back on track with a big game against the Saints.
Five key plays
- Early in the second quarter, Cousins hit Smith for a 17-yard gain on third down. It was a perfect throw and a great catch by a diving Smith. That moved the chains and helped set up the Vikings' first touchdown. Trailing 14-0 at that point, the Vikings needed to score on that possession, and Smith's catch was key.
- The Lions converted their first three fourth down tries in this game, but not their fourth. Eric Kendricks made sure of that with a great pass breakup against T.J. Hockenson. That play got the Vikings the ball back, and after a fourth-down conversion of their own via Thielen, Cook scored to tie the game at 14.
- With roughly 11 minutes left in the game, the Lions faced a third and 1. Instead of running the ball, they had Goff drop back to pass. He fired one up the right sideline for Josh Reynolds, but Patrick Peterson was in perfect position to break it up. Deep in their own territory, the Lions punted, and the Vikings scored on the ensuing possession to make it a 24-21 game.
- This game was all about fourth downs. On fourth and 1 with 3:30 left, the Vikings stuffed Jamaal Williams short of the line to gain. Cam Bynum made first contact, but several Vikings defenders were involved in the play. Even though the Vikings ended up turning it over on downs, that fourth down stop was huge. The Vikings still haven't given up a single point in the fourth quarter this season.
- Osborn's game-winning touchdown and the game-sealing interception by Josh Metellus were obviously huge plays, but don't overlook the play before the Vikings' touchdown. Cousins stepped up and hit Osborn for a big 28-yard gain, setting the scene for the game-winner. It was a perfectly placed ball.
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