Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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Pound the rock | By @Eric_L_Smith
Through three games, both the Vikings and Texans have displayed leaky run defenses. Minnesota ranks 26th in the league, having allowed 147.7 rushing yards per game.
Houston's 188.3 rushing yards allowed per game ranks last in the NFL, and a full season of similar stats would put the Texans in poor company. According to stats provided by the NFL Media Research, the 188.3 rushing yards allowed per game would be the most allowed by a team since the 1980 Saints allowed 194.1 rushing yards per game and finished 1-15 on the season.
It's worth noting that Houston has played a pair of mobile quarterbacks so far in Patrick Mahomes and Lamar Jackson, but that duo combined for just 13 carries for 57 yards in Week 1 and 2 (kneel downs were not counted), with Jackson amassing all of those stats by himself.
And while both defenses have been shoddy against the run, the same can be said for both of their rushing offenses.
Led by a career-high 181 yards from Dalvin Cook in Week 3 — which earned him FedEx Ground Player of the Week honors — the Vikings now rank eighth in the NFL with 147.7 rushing yards per game.
"I was having fun. That was first and foremost," Cook said. "I don't get caught up in checking the stats and seeing where I'm at. Doing that, you kind of get sidetracked. If you're doing that, you're not focused on winning the football game.
"And my main goal is to go get a W," Cook added. "If I have 20 yards, 30 yards and we got that W, I'm happy. But I'm having fun when I'm on the field."
The Texans? They have struggled to get their ground game going, and rank next-to-last at just 66.0 rushing yards per game.
To sum it up, the Texans haven't been able to stop the run or able to run the ball. The Vikings have also struggled to stop the run but have pounded the rock effectively.
If you're the Vikings offense, that's a matchup that favors your scheme and one of your best players in Cook.
"That's our main goal. Be aggressive. Attack. And from Play 1 show them we're ready to come play. And that's been our goal every time we step on the field," Cook said. "It don't matter, the statistics, if they are last or not. They're still an NFL team and they got guy that can make plays.
"So, we got to go out there and treat them like they're first or whatever," Cook added. "We've got to go out there and just execute at a high level and go win this football game.''
Cook ranks third in the NFL with 294 rushing yards, and is tied for the league lead with four rushing scores.