anticipated.“Now they give us a call, and I just line u

EAGAN Renell Wren Jersey , Minn. (AP) — Dalvin Cook took the first-down handoff for Minnesota, sized up the blocking at the line and veered hard to his left.Miami cornerback Bobby McCain had the angle on him, but Cook won the race to the edge and accelerated up the sideline to reach the end zone untouched for the Vikings on their merry way to a 41-17 victory over the Dolphins .That 13-yard touchdown run during a 21-point first quarter was a fitting snapshot of a performance by the offense that was as smooth as it’s been all season. That play was called to the same side of the field six days earlier in a 21-7 loss at Seattle, when the Vikings were as flat as they’ve been all year in trying to move the ball.Against the Seahawks, naturally, the unblocked cornerback tackled Cook for a short gain. Quarterback Kirk Cousins promised Cook on the sideline that night the next time he had the opportunity he’d beat the defender to the perimeter and turn it into a big play.Sure enough, that’s what transpired against the Dolphins, when Cousins looked at Cook in the huddle and said simply, “Make him miss.”The margin between winning and losing in the NFL can be so slim that sometimes for no significant reason a play can be thwarted one week and thrive the next. Cousins has been vocal since the change about his insistence that the struggles were not a product of bad play calls but rather the fault of the players.“We’ve got to make the coaches right,” Cousins said.Still, there was a clear boost the Vikings gained from a fresh start under interim offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski after the firing of John DeFilippo . The shift in venue to another capacity crowd at U.S. Bank Stadium was the biggest help, and facing a Dolphins defense with many deficiencies instead of the Seahawks was a welcomed alternative.With Stefanski calling the plays on Sunday for the first time http://www.bengalsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-michael-jordan-jersey , there was a concerted effort to follow a streamlined, simplified game plan after the Vikings were held under 285 total yards in Seattle for the fourth time in a five-game stretch. They called 40 runs to 23 passes, by far their biggest favor of the ground game of the season.Coach Mike Zimmer, who’d been critical of DeFilippo last month for what he termed “too much volume” in the playbook from week to week, saw some negative effect that had on Cousins. He told his quarterback last week to remember what playing in the backyard in seventh grade felt like.“You don’t run plays. You just play the game,” Zimmer said. “I think that’s what he needs to do, just play the game and let it unfold.”Stefanski simply used more players, too. Fullback C.J. Ham had 18 snaps, and backup tight ends David Morgan and Tyler Conklin had 23 snaps apiece. Ham and Morgan, who returned from a four-game absence because of a knee injury, had the key blocks to give Cook his chance to beat the cornerback one-on-one on his first touchdown.The offensive linemen, too Greedy Williams Jersey , were at their best in a season that has been a struggle at times for the Vikings up front. Zimmer made the players report for meetings on Monday instead of the typical day off after a late-in-the-year victory, citing a desire to give the offensive linemen an opportunity to enjoy reviewing their performance.“What we are able of accomplishing when we do the right things,” Zimmer said.The bigger-picture reason, of course, to stay at work is the NFC wild-card race. Philadelphia and Washington both won to stay on the heels of the Vikings (7-6-1), who could clinch their spot as soon as next weekend, but could also find themselves eliminated if they don’t win their final two games. Keeping that rushing attack going will go a long way toward avoiding that fate.“These guys believe in me 100 percent, and I believe in them 100 percent,” Cook said of his blockers. “So when you’ve got a group like that, it’s a number of positive outcomes. We know what we can do.” EAGAN, Minn. — Xavier Rhodes was trailing Green Bay’s Davante Adams in coverage along the sideline late in the fourth quarter last week. Aaron Rodgers let the ball fly and Minnesota’s best cornerback raced to catch up.Rhodes arrived in time to make the tackle after a 36-yard gain by the Packers, but in the process of the acceleration he hurt his hamstring. As soon as he stood up http://www.brownsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-sione-takitaki-jersey , he grabbed his right leg and fell back to the turf. The immediate fear was a multiple-week absence for one of the most valuable players the Vikings have.More Vikings coveragePhotos of the Week: 7/21/19 – 7/27/19Rookie Bradbury is central figure to Vikings’ overhauled offensive lineVikings depth at cornerback being tested, Hughes still not clearedPlayers to watch at Minnesota Vikings 2019 training campTop Tweets: Vikings WR Diggs makes push for All-NFL Style TeamBut after testing and treatment, the diagnosis was a “very, very mild” injury, according to coach Mike Zimmer. He said on Wednesday, before Rhodes was held out of practice, that “there’s a good chance” the 2017 All-Pro pick will be able to play on Sunday at New England.With Tom Brady and that potent Patriots offense up next, the timing could not be better for Rhodes to heal quickly. With first-round draft pick Mike Hughes out for the season because of a torn ACL in his left knee, the depth behind Rhodes and Trae Waynes has thinned. Mackensie Alexander is manning the slot on most of the nickel plays, and rookie Holton Hill has been sent in several times to play on the outside as a fill-in when someone’s hurt.The latest opportunity came against the Packers, with the Vikings leading 24-14 when that reception by Adams set up the visiting team for a field goal.“My confidence has always been like a thing for me. You can’t go out on the field if you don’t believe in yourself. It starts there,” Hill said. “Obviously it’s something I’m not used to Sheldrick Redwine Jersey , but as a player, I’m going to have to play my role. There’s no excuses. I’m about to get in and help the defense out.”Rhodes and Waynes have each missed one full game, and they’ve also both been forced out of several contests because of injuries. The undrafted Hill was a priority free agent out of Texas for the Vikings right after the draft. Grasping Zimmer’s system took some time in training camp and beyond, but he has come a long way and been asked to play more meaningful snaps than anyone would have anticipated.“Now they give us a call, and I just line up, and it’s like natural,” Hill said.Though no soft-tissue injuries are the same, the Vikings have been especially conservative about handling them lately. Running back Dalvin Cook missed five games with hamstring trouble, and linebacker Anthony Barr was sidelined for three games with the same injury. So it stands to reason Rhodes won’t necessarily be cleared for action against Brady, who with two touchdown passes would move ahead of Peyton Manning, who had 579, for first place on the NFL’s all-time list http://www.brownsauthorizedshops.com/authentic-austin-seibert-jersey , including playoffs. Regardless of how Rhodes fares over the rest of the week, Hill will need to be ready.“He’s still learning, obviously, like most young guys are,” Zimmer said, “but he’s got a lot of really good competitiveness.”