Here comes Vikings’ Dalvin Cook at Seahawks’ highly ranked, largely untested rush defense
The Seahawks’ rush defense is third in the NFL. It is allowing just 78 yards per game.
But no one has truly tried to run on the Seahawks. A running back hasn’t carried the ball more than 14 times in a game against Seattle yet this season. It’s been too easy and successful for opponents to throw on the worst passing defense in the league.
So the Seahawks’ rush defense is largely unproven.
Proving time arrives Sunday night.
The defense is going to get Dalvin Cook running at them Sunday night when Seattle (4-0) hosts Minnesota (1-3) at 5:20 p.m. at CenturyLink Field.
Cook had 15 carries last week—in the first half—while leading the Vikings to their first win of the season last week at Houston.
A large reason why Cook is the NFL’s leading rusher through four games: he breaks tackles.
The 5-foot-10, 209-pound Cook has broken 26 tackles this season, by far the most in the league, according to Pro Football Focus. He’s created 63.4% of his rushing yards this season after contact, 269 of his 424 total yards rushing.
Nine of those broken tackles came last week while Cook romped for 130 yards and two touchdowns. He ran through two Texans during a 5-yard touchdown run.
He told ESPN.com this week he keeps Barry Sanders highlights on his iPad. That’s a decent guy to emulate if you want to break tackles. And ankles.
He’s coming off a career-high 27 rushes at Houston, for 130 yards. He’s had consecutive 100-yard games.
Point is, Minnesota is likely to use Cook more than any foe has used a running back yet this season against Seattle.
Bobby Wagner knows all this
“You just have to bring your feet. He’s a guy who is going to continue to run his feet on contact,” the Seahawks’ All-Pro middle linebacker said of Cook. “I think that’s the reason why he’s breaking so many tackles, because are hitting him and stopping and he keeps going. It’s definitely fun to watch him run the ball. It’s going to be fun to play against him, get in the backfield, and we’ll just tackle him. It’s just being disciplined on your tackling...and making sure you drive your feet and not let him keep going.”
Besides Wagner, defensive tackles Jarran Reed and Poona Ford are on the spot this week for the Seahawks. They are concerned enough about their interior defensive line that they signed Damon “Snacks” Harrison on a free-agent contract this week.
But Saturday the Seahawks decided to bring up safety Damarious Randall and not Harrison from their practice squad for Sunday night’s game. They deemed the 350-pound Harrison, an All-Pro defensive tackle in 2016, not ready to play yet.
More key players to Seahawks-Vikings:
1. Each time this season Russell Wilson has faced a rookie starting cornerback, he’s targeted him for the decisive touchdowns in Seattle wins. He did it with David Moore last week to break open a close game in the fourth quarter at Miami. He did it with DK Metcalf on fourth down in Atlanta to put the opener away last month.
Sunday night, Wilson will be targeting Vikings rookie cornerback Cameron Dantzler. The third-round pick returned to starting for Minnesota last week after missing two games with a rib injury.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer said it’s been a learning process for his young secondary that’s given up too many big plays early this season. Minnesota is 29th in pass defense in the league, and 29th in total defense.
Watch for Seahawks play caller Brian Schottenheimer to send Metcalf, the NFL’s co-leader in yards receiving, at Dantzler in key situations.
2. K.J. Wright played one of his best games in years last week for the Seahawks in their win at Miami. The team’s longest-tenured player, in his 10th season in Seattle, has moved to strongside from weakside linebacker since Bruce Irvin went on injured reserve with a season-ending knee injury two weeks ago. He’s playing closer to the line of scrimmage and reading screen passes and plays outside as quickly and effectively as he always has, and he’s also dropping deep into pass coverage knocking down throws. Wright’s playing so well he may stay at strongside, as the Seahawks await rookie first-round pick Jordyn Brooks to come back from a sprained knee to play weakside linebacker in a few weeks..
3. Seattle’s last-ranked pass defense has a challenge in Minnesota wide receiver Adam Thielen. He had 114 yards on eight catches in 10 targets from efficient Kirk Cousins in the Vikings’ first win of the season last week at Houston.
Thielen is excellent at getting open against all coverages. Seattle’s approach last week in Miami of dropping deep and keeping all plays in front of the defensive backs and linebackers—and not blitzing as much without injured All-Pro safety Jamal Adams, who is out again for this game—may not work as well against Thielen as it did against the Dolphins.
That would make the Seahawks’ anemic pass rush more important to get to Cousins that it was against Miami’s Ryan Fitzpatrick last week. Seattle signed defensive end Jonathan Bullard off Arizona’s practice squad for depth on the defensive line.
