Minnesota Vikings: 3 Bold predictions vs. Saints in Wild Card Round

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 09: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings comes to the line of scrimmage during the first half of a preseason game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes Benz Superdome on August 09, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images)
NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 09: Kirk Cousins #8 of the Minnesota Vikings comes to the line of scrimmage during the first half of a preseason game against the New Orleans Saints at Mercedes Benz Superdome on August 09, 2019 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Sean Gardner/Getty Images) /
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Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images
Photo by Hannah Foslien/Getty Images /

3. Cook will return to pace Minnesota running game

In the final two games of the regular season, Dalvin Cook sat out the contests to wrap up the year prior to the start of the postseason while dealing with a chest and shoulder injury that haunted him throughout the final few games of the regular season schedule.

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Minnesota hopes that its star running back is able to get back to being fully healthy ahead of the NFC Wild Card Game in New Orleans so he can return to the field and help pick up the pace in the Vikings running attack against the Saints.

Before he missed the final few games of the regular season, Cook was one of the top running backs in the entire NFL and played a huge role in what the Vikings were able to accomplish on the ground throughout the year.

In his third season in the league and with Minnesota, Cook finished the 2019 campaign with a career-best 1,135 rushing yards and a total of 13 touchdowns out of the backfield on 250 rushing attempts. He also managed to haul in a career-high 53 receptions in the passing game, finishing with a total of 519 yards receiving through the air.

On Sunday in the opening round of the playoffs, Cook will get back onto the field for Minnesota and will help provide a much-needed boost out of the backfield for the Vikings as they try and come away with a big postseason win on the road.