Vikings Snap Counts vs. Bears: Dalvin Cook, Alexander Mattison, Brian Asamoah

The first thing you notice about the Vikings' snap counts against the Bears is how lopsided this game was in terms of plays run by each team.

The Vikings had 79 offensive snaps to the Bears' 50, mainly because they were able to sustain four drives of at least six minutes and 75 yards. They did that without many big plays, instead moving the chains over and over by going 12 of 15 on third downs. Both teams averaged 5.8 yards per play, but the Vikings were the better offensive team because they simply possessed the ball more. Chicago was just 4 of 10 on third down.

There are a few other things we can learn from this week's Vikings snap counts. Let's dive in, starting as always with the offense.

Vikings offensive snap counts vs. Chicago (out of 79)

QB Kirk Cousins: 79
RT Brian O'Neill: 79
RG Ed Ingram: 79
LG Ezra Cleveland: 79
C Garrett Bradbury: 79
LT Christian Darrisaw: 79
WR Justin Jefferson: 79
WR Adam Thielen: 76
WR K.J. Osborn: 65
TE Irv Smith Jr: 50
RB Dalvin Cook: 45
TE Johnny Mundt: 35
RB Alexander Mattison: 34
TE Ben Ellefson: 10
FB C.J. Ham: 7
WR Jalen Reagor: 3
OL Oli Udoh: 1

I talked last week about how K.J. Osborn and Irv Smith Jr. had seen their snaps increase every week of the season, and thanks to the Vikings having 79 total snaps, that happened again for both players. They each saw ten targets, catching nine of them for a combined 83 yards. That's a better level of efficiency than Adam Thielen, who caught four of seven targets for 27 yards.

No. 3 tight end Ben Ellefson landed on injured reserve with a groin injury prior to the game, so the Vikings elevated rookie Nick Muse from the practice squad. But Muse only played on special teams, meaning Smith and Johnny Mundt got all the snaps at TE.

The 11 snaps separating Dalvin Cook and Alexander Mattison is the smallest margin this season. Cook had his biggest game of the year, racking up 121 yards and two touchdowns on 20 touches, but Mattison was also very involved. He basically played the Vikings' entire second offensive series, although it was Cook who finished that drive with a score. Mattison also saw some work in the red zone (he came a yard away from a TD on the Vikings' third series) and on third downs. Both RBs ran 19 routes, but Mattison had four targets and three catches to Cook's two and two, one of which came on a trick play double pass from Justin Jefferson.

Jalen Reagor saw just three offensive snaps for the second straight game, but made one of them count with his first touchdown in a Vikings uniform.

Vikings defensive snap counts vs. Chicago (out of 50)

S Camryn Bynum: 50
CB Patrick Peterson: 50
S Harrison Smith: 50
LB Eric Kendricks: 50
CB Cameron Dantzler: 50
LB Jordan Hicks: 44
SCB Chandon Sullivan: 40
OLB Danielle Hunter: 40
OLB Za'Darius Smith: 37
DT Dalvin Tomlinson: 36
DT Harrison Phillips: 28
OLB D.J. Wonnum: 25
DT Jonathan Bullard: 17
DT Ross Blacklock: 11
OLB Patrick Jones II: 10
DT James Lynch: 6
LB Brian Asamoah: 6

Za'Darius Smith played just 40 percent of the snaps in London while dealing with a knee injury, but he was back to his usual role with 74 percent of the snaps on Sunday, posting five pressures. D.J. Wonnum also had five pressures, but he did it on just 15 pass-rush snaps in an incredibly efficient performance.

Four players had two pressures, including Ross Blacklock, who narrowly missed his first Vikings sack.

Third-round rookie Brian Asamoah, who the Vikings believe has a very bright future, saw his first defensive snaps of the season on Sunday. The Vikings brought him in to mix things up, using him as a spy on Justin Fields and also as a blitzer.

"I thought Ed (Donatell) did a great job kind of mixing personnel to try to take away what we thought was coming with different personnel groupings," Kevin O'Connell said. "Saw some different guys in there at times, both on the front and in the secondary and linebackers, just to try to fit with how we want to play and turn guys loose in those situations."

James Lynch played a season-low six snaps.

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