Action Reaction: Adaptability Just as Important as Grit

[Viktor]

MINNEAPOLIS — The Vikings were going nowhere fast.


So they headed for the ol’ drawing board to adjust what the Broncos were seeing and stuffing.


Minnesota did so with such speed that it reversed a 20-point halftime deficit and 16-point margin at the start of the fourth quarter, and turned it into a 27-23 victory to improve to 8-3 on the season.


There was also plenty of grit involved on a day when the Vikings vaunted run game was plugged by the Broncos. Minnesota finished with just 37 rush yards on 18 attempts, an average of 2.1 per carry with a long of 6.


That’s the second-fewest rushing yards that the Vikings have totaled in a win under Head Coach Mike Zimmer (30 yards on 22 carries against the Packers in 2016 in U.S. Bank Stadium’s Inaugural Game).


The paltry total was after last week’s victory during which Minnesota ran the ball on 10 consecutive plays to score the decisive touchdown.


Pre-game question: Could the Vikings win even on a day when the running game is less than robust?


The Vikings entered the game riding the wave of Dalvin Cook, who entered Week 11 as the NFL’s leading rusher.


Cook, however, had just four carries for 9 yards in the first half, which brought his total on the season to 1,000. He finished with 11 rushes for 26 yards, including a 3-yard touchdown run early in the fourth quarter and has 1,017 on the season.


The Broncos were successful against runs by other players, too. Alexander Mattison (three for 5 yards), Ameer Abdullah (one for 5), Cousins (two for 1) and C.J. Ham (one for 0) combined for seven carries that netted 11 yards.


Denver also tackled Cook for a loss of 3 on a screen play at the end of the first half.