Minnesota Vikings: 3 Players that must shine vs. Seahawks, Week 13

1. Dalvin Cook

Through 11 games for Dalvin Cook, the young running back has been one of the top guys at the position throughout the NFL. That play has, much like Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins, pushed Cook into some conversations surrounding the MVP award at the end of the season and if the running back should be considered with some votes for the award.

So far in the 2019 campaign, which is Cook’s third season in the NFL and with the Vikings, he has recorded a total of 1,017 yards rushing on the ground along with 11 rushing touchdowns.

Coming into the Week 13 slate of games, Cook ranked third in the league in yards on the ground while being tied for third in rushing attempts per game (19.5), third in yards per game on the ground (92.5) and tied for second in rushing touchdowns.

Cook has also shown the ability to catch out of the backfield and be a reliable target in the passing game for Minnesota up to this point in the year, recording a total of 455 yards on a career-high 45 receptions through the air game. Cook, however, is coming off of one of his worst performances of the season in the Week 11 victory at home against the Denver Broncos a few weeks ago.

In that game, Cook finished with just 26 yards rushing on 11 total attempts, both season-low totals although he did find his way into the end zone once on the ground in the win.

Much like Cousins, Cook is an important aspect of what the Vikings are able to do on the offensive side of the ball and he will need to bounce back with a nice performance on the road against the Seattle Seahawks in Week 13 on Monday Night Football.