Minnesota Vikings: Studs and duds vs. Bears in Week 4

Stud: Dalvin Cook

Another player that put together a quality performance for Minnesota in Week 4 against Chicago is Vikings running back Dalvin Cook. Although he didn’t put the caliber of play that has been on display in the first three games of the 2019 regular season, the running back did have a respectable game on Sunday against the division-rival Bears.

While facing off against a team that has been outstanding against opposing running backs over the last year-plus, Cook ran for a total of 35 yards on 14 carries and finished with one rushing touchdown in the loss.

Although he didn’t have the type of performance that he’s put together on the ground in each of the first three weeks this year, Cook made a difference in Sunday’s game through the air as well, catching six passes on eight targets for a total of 35 yards receiving out of the backfield.

Cook has and will continue to be a large part of this Vikings offense, and in Week 4 against Chicago, Minnesota had to try and find some other unique ways to get the explosive running back involved in the offense other than running the ball.

Dud: Adam Thielen

Another dud performance for Minnesota on Sunday afternoon on the road in Chicago was out of Vikings wide receiver Adam Thielen. Thielen, who has been arguably the best wideout for Minnesota through three games so far this season, struggled mightily against the Bears in Week 4.

While the receiving group finished with 233 total yards, Thielen hauled in two catches on six targets to finish the game with just six total yards. That performance is by far the worst of his 2019 season thus far.

It will be interesting to see how Thielen bounces back in Week 5 and if both he and Diggs can get rolling at the same time for the first time this season against the Giants.

Stud: Eric Kendricks

The final stud for the Vikings on Sunday evening in their second loss of the season while falling to NFC North opponent the Chicago Bears was Minnesota linebacker Eric Kendricks. Kendricks, who is in his fifth season in the NFL and with the Vikings this year, led Minnesota’s defensive unit during the game while leading the team in total tackles and solo tackles.

Kendricks finished the contest with eight solo tackles, while grabbing a game-high 12 total tackles to lead defenders on both sidelines. In a game where not much seemed to go well for the Vikings defense, Kendricks stepped up and had a quality performance once again for Minnesota in the defeat.

Dud: Kirk Cousins

The final dud for Minnesota in the contest on Sunday was the play of Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins throughout the entirety of the game. Basically from the opening quarter, Cousins had a hard time getting into a rhythm within the Vikings offense and was getting pressured by a solid Chicago defense basically all game.

While fumbling the ball twice behind center, Cousins finished converting on 27 of his 36 overall pass attempts to come away with 233 total passing yards. He was pressured early and often, as mentioned, getting sacked six times for a loss of 51 total yards.

Some of the issues Cousins faced on Sunday against Chicago was due to the offensive line having a rough game, but the quarterback didn’t do himself or his team any favors when he could have stepped up and taken advantage of opportunities when the Vikings needed him to most.