Vikings Start Fast, Trounce Raiders At U.S. Bank Stadium

It was another dominant performance at home for the Vikings.

The 2019 Minnesota Vikings are – at worst – a very good team.

And when a very good team plays at home against a not-so-good team, they should be able to win, preferably in convincing fashion. That's exactly what the Vikings (2-1) did against the Oakland Raiders (1-2) on Sunday, jumping out to a big lead and never looking back in a 34-14 victory.

However, this win doesn't do anything to tell us whether or not the Vikings are a great team. That title has to be earned away from the raucous confines of U.S. Bank Stadium, against other quality teams. The Vikings blew their first such opportunity last weekend in Green Bay, and they'll get another one next Sunday in Chicago.

In the meantime, all the Vikings could do was take care of business against the Raiders. They did that, and then some.

Dalvin Cook continued to make the case that he's the best running back in the world, ripping off 110 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries and adding 33 yards on four catches. Cook has now rushed for 110 yards and a touchdown in each of the first three games of the season, something only done by four other players in NFL history.

Looking for a bounce-back week after his meltdown in Green Bay, Kirk Cousins was solid, if unspectacular. He played the game-manager role effectively, completing 15 of 21 pass attempts for 174 yards and a touchdown. He found Adam Thielen for an early touchdown off of play-action and hooked up with rookie Irv Smith Jr. for three big gains. Cousins did not turn the ball over once.

Defensively, the Vikings held the Raiders to three conversions on 11 third-down attempts. They sacked Derek Carr four times and picked him off once. Outside of giving up a big day to tight end Darren Waller, it was a pretty complete defensive performance from a unit that was missing star linebacker Anthony Barr.

The story of the game was the Vikings' incredible performance running the ball. Committing to the run and increasing their effectiveness in that area was the primary focus of the offseason. It's why the Vikings brought in Gary Kubiak and drafted players like Garrett Bradbury and Alexander Mattison with early-round picks.

Through three games, the running game has exceeded even the most optimistic expectations. The Raiders have a solid run defense, but they couldn't do a thing to slow down Cook and the Vikings on Sunday, as they ran for 213 yards on 5.9 yards per carry (excluding kneel-downs). In addition to Cook's efficient 110 yards, Mattison added 58 of his own and a leaping score for his first career touchdown. Third-stringer Mike Boone got in on the action with 28 yards in garbage time, and Thielen even added a 1-yard touchdown run on a nifty sweep play.

The star, of course, was Cook. Using an incredible blend of speed, acceleration, vision, balance and power, Cook continued to light the league on fire in his third season. He picked up big gains on outside runs, inside runs and check-downs from Cousins. The highlight was a third-quarter scamper in which he broke roughly five tackles with some otherworldly footwork.

Dalvin Cook's footwork is silly 😱😱 @dalvincook pic.twitter.com/F82C0ALbyL

— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) September 22, 2019

As long as Cook and the Vikings' defense stay healthy, this will be a very good football team.

Next Sunday in Chicago, it'll be on Cousins and the rest of the team to provide reasons to believe that the Vikings can be even more than that.