If the Vikings are going to avoid following a 13-3 season in 2017 with a 1-3-1 start to 2018, they’ll likely have to do it without running back Dalvin Cook.
Cook is expected to miss Sunday’s game against the Eagles, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Media.
The second-year tailback injured a hamstring 20 days ago, during a 29-29 tie at Lambeau Field against the Packers. He missed the Week Three game against the Bills, and he played on the following Thursday night against the Rams, on a pitch count. But Cook had no carries after halftime in the 38-31 loss, and the extra rest following the Thursday night contest apparently isn’t enough to get Cook ready to go.
Without Cook, Latavius Murray becomes the top option in the Minnesota backfield. In the two games since Cook was injured, however, Murray has four total carries for three total yards.
And so the reality for the Vikings may be more passing from quarterback Kirk Cousins, who already has 1,387 passing yards in four games. That puts him on pace of 5,548 yards, less than 30 yards short of the single-season record.