Minnesota Vikings offensive coordinator John DeFilippo wants to run the ball. That will be difficult if his top back can't play.
Coach Mike Zimmer said Thursday that Dalvin Cook is set to be questionable for Sunday's showdown versus the Philadelphia Eagles, per Chris Tomasson of the St. Paul Pioneer Press.
Cook has been dealing with a hamstring injury since Week 2. The soft tissue issue held him out of a Week 3 loss to the Bills and kept him to a pitch count during last Thursday's defeat in L.A. He hasn't practiced this week.
If Cook can't go, the duties will again fall to Latavius Murray with undrafted backups Mike Boone and Roc Thomas potentially playing a larger role than previous weeks for a struggling running game.
"There's no one in this building who wants to run the ball more than I do," DeFilippo said, via the team's official website. "It takes a lot of pressure off me to not have to have the perfect protection, to not have to call the perfect routes against the coverage you think you're going to get, the quarterback in duress at times. Where if you run the ball with efficiency, obviously it's a lot easier on the play caller, it's easier on some of the players."
The Vikings haven't had luck with or without Cook this season. The second-year back has just 98 total rushing yards on 36 carries for a 2.7 yards per tote average.
As a team, the Vikings are averaging an NFL-worst 63.0 yards per game on the ground.