The Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Viking square off in a pivotal game for both teams in Week 4. The Vikings need to square their record at 2 – 2 to keep pace in the NFC North and NFC wild card chases while the Browns need to match the Cincinnati Bengals 3 – 1 record.
While the return of Kevin Stefanski to Minnesota is a big storyline, injuries and similar schemes will also be important to watch as well.
One big injury for the Vikings is running back Dalvin Cook. Cook rushed for 131 yards in the team’s Week 2 loss to Arizona but missed Week 3 with an ankle injury. Alexander Mattison filled in quite well in Minnesota’s victory over Seattle with 112 yards of his own.
With the Vikings need for a balanced attack against the Browns, it looks like the team will get Cook back after missing only one week:
#Vikings RB Dalvin Cook (ankle) is officially listed as questionable, but Cook told me after practice he got a lot of reps this week, feels good and, barring a setback, expects to play Sunday against the #Browns. @nflnetwork pic.twitter.com/48lj3RJaxK
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) October 1, 2021
If Cook’s estimate, in the 90% healthy, is accurate, Cleveland can expect a full dose of the Vikings star back. If the Browns struggle to stop the run, they could make things more difficult for pass rushers Myles Garrett and Jadeveon Clowney. If the Minnesota run game can be shut down, Cleveland’s defensive line can pin their ears back and get after quarterback Kirk Cousins.
As with most injuries, anything can happen in warmups to change the status but, as of Friday, it looks like Cook will be causing problems for the Browns defense on Sunday.
