Cook's 4 TDs help Vikings knock off Packers
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Dalvin Cook gained 226 yards from scrimmage and became the first Viking in over four decades to score four touchdowns in a single game as Minnesota defeated the Green Bay Packers 28-22 on Sunday.
The Vikings withstood a three-touchdown performance from receiver Davante Adams, who had seven catches for 53 yards.
Green Bay had the ball at Minnesota's 41-yard line with 12 seconds and no timeouts left, but D.J. Wonnum sacked Aaron Rodgers and knocked the ball loose. Eric Wilson recovered at the 24 as time expired.
Cook missed Minnesota’s last game with a groin injury that had him listed as questionable, but he looked just fine while dicing up Green Bay’s defense all day.
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Each of the Vikings’ first four possessions ended with Cook touchdowns. He ran for 163 yards and three touchdowns on 30 carries. Cook also had two catches for 63 yards, including a 50-yard score.
The only other Vikings to score four touchdowns in a game are Ahmad Rashad in 1979 and Chuck Foreman in 1975.
Adams’ 7-yard touchdown cut Minnesota’s lead to 28-20 with 2:42 left. Green Bay went a 2-point conversion got within 28-22 when replays determined the ball crossed the goal line on Jamaal Williams’ inside run.
The Vikings (2-5) snapped Green Bay’s eight-game divisional winning streak as the Packers (5-2) lost an NFC North game for the first time since coach Matt LaFleur arrived last season. The Packers also lost at home for the first time since falling 34-27 to the Eagles on Sept. 26, 2019.
The Packers had won eight straight at home, including a playoff victory over the Seattle Seahawks last season.
This game kicked off amid 23 mph winds with the forecast calling for occasional gusts of over 40 mph. The breezy conditions kept either team from throwing downfield often.
Rather than hindering the offense, the weather allowed both teams to go on successful time-consuming drives featuring plenty of handoffs and high-percentage passes.
Each team got the ball just twice in the first 29 minutes of the game, and all four of those possessions resulted in touchdowns. When Cook wasn’t scoring for Minnesota, Adams was reaching the end zone for Green Bay on a 5-yard reception and a 1-yard catch.
Cook kept it going by racing 37 yards on the first play of the second half. He capped that drive with a 1-yard run that gave Minnesota its first lead at 21-14 with 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
The 2017 second-round pick from Florida State then showcased his versatility on his fourth touchdown. Minnesota faced third-and-9 from midfield when Cook caught Kirk Cousins' pass behind the line of scrimmage and worked his way around or past a variety of Packers defenders to put the Vikings ahead 28-14.
Four times in the second half, Green Bay reached Vikings territory without scoring.
The Vikings host the Lions next Sunday. The Packers play at San Francisco on Thursday in a rematch of last year’s NFC championship game, which the 49ers won 37-20.
