Washington Redskins @ Minnesota Vikings: Dalvin Cook to run all over the Redskins

Dave Gray
23 October 2019

Kirk Cousins will play against the team that drafted him for the first time

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Dave Gray believes that Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison will be the key men as the Vikings look to pile on the misery against Washington.

"Dalvin Cook is playing out of his mind this season. The Vikings running back has gone over 100 yards in five of his seven games and has eight rushing touchdowns to go with it."

Washington Redskins @ Minnesota Vikings
Friday, 01:20 BST
Live on Sky Sports Action and Main Event

Run game should lead the way for the Vikings

Thursday night sees two quarterbacks returning to their former teams for the first time as Kirk Cousins and the Vikings host the Case Keenum led Redskins.

While that may be the big talking point heading into this game, it is likely to be elsewhere on the field where the game is decided. Dalvin Cook is playing out of his mind this season. The Vikings running back has gone over 100 yards in five of his seven games and has eight rushing touchdowns to go with it. His 725 rushing yards this season lead the league. The Redskins rush defence is among the worst in the league and are giving up 134 yards per game this season and look unlikely to slow him down.

Add Cook's back up Alexander Mattison to the mix - the rookie is running at just shy of five yards per carry himself - and it looks to be a long night for Washington. The only slight concern when it comes to Cook as that the Vikings get up early and give Mattison extra carries to protect their star for the long season ahead. Both should get plenty of work though and we could see both thrive against a weak opponent.

Cousins recovers from poor start

Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins had a bit of a stuttering start to the season that had fans worrying that Cousins was going to be holding the rest of their very talented team back. Since then though he has turned things around drastically. He has ten touchdowns in his past three games including four in each of his last two - he managed just three touchdowns total in those first four weeks - and has been one of, if not the best passer in the league this month.

He looks set to be without his favourite target Adam Thielen. The wide receiver injured his hamstring early on in Sunday's win over the Lions. Stefon Diggs and Olabisi Johnson are likely to be the main target

Hard to find positives for the Redskins

The Redskins season could not have gone much worse so far. They have already fired their head coach, had three different quarterbacks and their only win was a narrow victory over the Miami Dolphins - a team that is tanking the season to try and secure the first overall pick in the draft.

There are a few bright spots, mainly in rookie wide receiver Terry McLaurin who looks set to be a star for years to come and Quinton Dunbar has emerged as one of the better cornerbacks in the league. But there is very little else that the Redskins fans can take away from the season so far.

They have hit double figures in points just once in their past four games - the 17-16 win over the Dolphins - and were shut out entirely on Sunday in a weather-affected game with the 49ers. The Vikings are currently sixth in scoring defence and it hard to see Keenum and the Skins offence putting up many points here.

Injuries in the Redskins backfield

Adrian Peterson comes into this game with an ankle injury. He missed practice on Tuesday but expects to play on Thursday night. With Derrius Guice on injured reserve and Chris Thompson also looking likely to miss this one with a toe injury, Wendell Smallwood could be set for an increased role in the backfield. He showed in his time in Philadelphia that he is a competent runner and the opportunity could be there for him against the Vikings.

Vikings should remain unbeaten at home

The Vikings are currently unbeaten at home this season and while they have shown a few signs of weakness, the Redskins do not appear to be the team to exploit this.

Cook and Mattison should have big nights against a poor rush defence and it is hard to see the Redskins offence putting up much of a fight. The 16-point spread is a big one but it is one I would be looking to take on.

It feels like a game where we could see both team's back up running backs a lot for different reasons, and a same game multi of Smallwood and Mattison to score a touchdown pays a very intriguing 22.72.