Minnesota Vikings: 3 Bold predictions vs. Bears in Week 17

2. Minnesota will struggle on the ground again

In the Week 16 defeat at home for Minnesota, which was its first loss at home so far in the 2019 campaign, the Vikings struggled on the offensive side of the ball in general against the Green Bay Packers on Monday Night Football.

Especially when it came to the running game, though, Minnesota really struggled to counter what Green Bay was able to accomplish on the ground and in the passing game on its side of the field.

With Vikings running back Dalvin Cook missing the game last week with a shoulder injury, along with backup running back Alexander Mattison also missing the game with an injury, that meant that the rushing duties were left up to Mike Boone and Ameer Abdullah during the contest for Minnesota.

The absence of both Cook and Mattison was surely felt and the numbers the duo of Boone and Abdullah were able to finish the game with directly reflected that. Boone led the way with 11 carries for just 28 yards, while Abdullah added 27 yards on the ground on four attempts.

Overall, the Vikings running game finished with 57 yards on 16 carries, failing to get into the end zone at all out of the backfield in the game.

In the Week 17 contest against the Bears at US Bank Stadium, don’t expect the Vikings rushing attack to improve too much from what it was able to put together in Week 16 on national television.

While going up against a tough defensive group in Chicago, along with Cook already being ruled out for the game and Mattison listed as questionable, the Vikings running game will once again struggle in the contest. That will continue to be the case until Cook and Mattison are able to get back onto the field for Minnesota.