Vikings Snap Counts: Dalvin Cook bounces back

Published

Dalvin Cook hasn't lost a step despite spending nearly a year recovering from a torn ACL.

The second-year running back was on the field for 80 percent of the Vikings' snaps on offense in Week 1, his first game since going down in Week 4 last season.



Cook averaged a pedestrian 2.5 yards per carry in his return, but was active in the passing game, finishing with 95 total yards on 22 touches.

Quarterback Kirk Cousins looked his way early and often in their first game together. Cook was targeted seven times, second only to receiver Adam Thielen, who led the team with 12.

The damage: 40 rushing yards on 16 carries with a long of 15, and six catches for a career-high 55 receiving yards with a long of 17.

Even his fumble, potentially costly though it was with the Vikings nursing a one-score lead in the second quarter, came at the end of an otherwise spectacular run.

Meanwhile, backup Latavius Murray was on the field for just 14 snaps. The veteran made the most of his workload, racking up 42 yards on 11 carries, but was a nonfactor in the passing game.

C.J. Ham was targeted twice, but had no carries.

Other notes:

-- Head coach Mike Zimmer has had nothing but praise for rookie cornerback Mike Hughes since the draft, and he followed through in Week 1. Hughes appeared on 79 percent of the Vikings' snaps on defense.

-- The Vikings made it through a full game without further damage to their offensive line. Riley Reiff, Tom Compton, Brett Jones, Rashod Hill and Mike Remmers were on the field for all 71 snaps on offense.

-- Thielen and Stefon Diggs are both regarded as the Vikings' No. 1 receiver, but the former had a definitive edge in Week 1. Thielen was on the field for seven more snaps than Diggs, while Diggs had just six targets to Thielen's 12.

-- Defensive end Danielle Hunter was on the field for 88 percent of the Vikings' snaps on defense, his largest share of the workload since Week 10 of last season.

-- Cornerback Xavier Rhodes was listed as "questionable" with a hamstring injury heading into Week 1. He played all 66 of the Vikings' snaps on defense anyway.

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DEFENSE