Dalvin Cook and the Minnesota Vikings made the turn into the second half of the 2019 season in position to check off a lot of goals on their preseason to-do list.
At 7-3, the Vikings have the NFL’s leading rusher and are second in the NFC North with plenty of time to push the Green Bay Packers for the division crown behind a defense with as much bite as it has bark.
Cook leads the NFL in rushing with 991 yards — including six 100-yard games — and is second in the league with 10 rushing touchdowns behind Green Bay’s Aaron Jones (11) and Carolina’s Christian McCaffrey (11).
But head coach Mike Zimmer reminded players at the start of the Week 11 work week not to get high on the hog with the 3-6 Denver Broncos coming to town. While the Vikings beat Dallas 28-24 on the road last week, the Broncos got a win with newbie quarterback Brandon Allen and have a miniscule point differential of minus-21 in those six defeats.
“They’ve lost three games by two points (each). We’re going to have our hands full and are going to have to play really well on Sunday to win,” Zimmer said.
A core concern is getting ready for Allen, who is in the lineup due to a season-ending neck injury to Joe Flacco. Allen has a passer rating of 125.6, compiled entirely in his first career start Week 9 against the Cleveland Browns. The Broncos had a bye last week.
“It’s difficult because he hasn’t been there the entire time; you got a one-game summary of it,” Zimmer said. “Really, we have to prepare for the offense, and then we have to prepare for the players, and then with him being different, just trying to re-study everything that he’s done. But it is more difficult having that small of a sample size”
One pillar the Broncos know well thanks to assistant coach Gary Kubiak coming over from Denver and Zimmer’s experience coaching against him is head coach Vic Fangio. Like Zimmer, Fangio played the bridesmaid role in many a coaching search before finally landing his first head-coaching gig with the Broncos. An assistant and primarily defensive coordinator — also Zimmer’s calling card — for 19 seasons and most recently with Minnesota’s NFC North rival the Chicago Bears, Fangio is widely respected by the Vikings.
“I wish he didn’t now,” Zimmer said, joking of Fangio landing the Broncos’ job. “”He’s been a good defensive coordinator for a long, long time,” Zimmer said. “I’m not saying anything bad about anybody else, but a lot of these guys come in and then one year [later] they get a head coaching job and [other] guys never get an opportunity. I felt like Vic was a guy that earned that opportunity because of the body of work he had.”
The Broncos did not practice during the bye week but Fangio said Allen got extra work and spent time at the team facility prepping for Minnesota’s flexible and dominant defense. The Vikings didn’t allow a rushing first down to Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys in last week’s game. The test for Allen is much more difficult in his second career start.
Allen, 27, wants to maximize his opportunity and keep second-round rookie Drew Lock on the bench. Fangio said developing players is part of the plan down the stretch. Lock has only returned to practice Tuesday, and could be another week from being deemed ready to roll.
“Obviously I want to play well. I want to win,” Allen said.
Broncos cornerback Chris Harris said the Vikings are not easy to prepare for thanks to two Pro Bowl-caliber wide receivers complementing Cook and the grind-it-out ground game. Beyond that, a play-action game that includes a heavy dose of screen passes can baffle a defense.
“They’re one of the better screen teams we play,” Harris said. “They do way more zone (runs) than our offense. They do a good job of playing out the fakes, plays that look similar and playing out the screens.”
This is the 15th meeting all-time between the teams and first since 2015. Each team has seven wins in the series.