GREEN BAY, Wis. — In recent years, the Vikings have drafted running backs, hired and fired offensive coordinators, and offered an eight-figure contract based on an almost countercultural belief that they can base their offense around a forceful running game in an era where teams are throwing the ball more frequently than ever.
They got Dalvin Cook back from a strained groin in time for Sunday's game at Lambeau Field, intending to lean heavily on the Pro Bowler in a building where he ran for 154 yards a year ago.
On the first day of November, when swirling winds whipped through the empty Lambeau bowl at speeds of up to 40 mph, the Vikings' second — and undoubtedly, their most-prized — victory of the season became a proof for their thesis. It will be remembered as one of the greatest individual performances in the venerated stadium's 63-year history.
No Viking — not Randy Moss, not Adrian Peterson — could claim to have done what Cook did at Lambeau on Sunday, when he turned an empty stadium and blustery conditions into his personal masterpiece.
He became the first player to surpass 200 yards from scrimmage and score four touchdowns at Lambeau Field, lifting the Vikings to a 28-22 victory, their first win in Green Bay since 2017.
Cook danced through the Packers' defense from the first drive of the game. He scored a 21-yard touchdown behind a block off the right side of the Vikings' line from tight end Irv Smith. His second and third scores were from a yard out, and with the Vikings facing a 3rd-and-9 from midfield in the third quarter, Kirk Cousins flipped a screen pass to Cook, who turned upfield behind a cut block from Garrett Bradbury and split the game open with a spellbinding 50-yard score.
Anthony Souffle — Star Tribune Minnesota Vikings' Dalvin Cook celebrates with teammates, including Kyle Rudolph (82), after Cook scored his first touchdown against the Green Bay Packers in the first quarter.
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The running back carried the Vikings' offense and made life easier for Cousins on a day where downfield throws seemed difficult to execute. The Packers, without running back Aaron Jones and left tackle David Bakhtiari, saw their own running game dry up after an 81-yard first half. Aaron Rodgers missed several downfield throws against a Vikings secondary that was already injury-plagued and lost Cameron Dantzler to a scary first-quarter injury.
The rookie was taken off the field on a stretcher on the final play of the first quarter, when his head collided with Anthony Harris' leg on an A.J. Dillon run. Dantzler moved his hands briefly as he was taken off the field, and the Vikings later announced he had full movement, adding he was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons after sustaining a neck injury and possible concussion.
Without Dantzler, the Vikings had to cobble together a group of cornerbacks, and withstand a final comeback attempt from the Packers. Rodgers hit Davante Adams for his third touchdown of the day with 2:47 to go, and the Packers converted a two-point conversion to make it 28-22.
But after Green Bay got the ball back in the final minute, the Packers wasted precious time trying to get enough men on the line of scrimmage and prevent an illegal formation after Rodgers hit Robert Toynan at the Vikings' 41.
Rodgers spiked the ball with 13 seconds left, and as he rolled right to try a throw to the end zone, rookie D.J. Wonnum sacked him from behind, forcing a game-ending fumble.
The win salvaged a season split against the Packers and moved the Vikings to 2-5 before two more division games against the Lions and Bears in the next two weeks. The Packers dropped to 5-2, losing for the second time in three games after a 4-0 start.
