EAGAN Replica Olisaemeka Udoh Jersey , Minn. — Dalvin Cook‘s rush through the left side of the line for 70 yards last week was the longest gain of his professional career, an early game boost for the Minnesota Vikings in an important victory over Detroit before their bye.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 TeamThat was the type of big running play that has been missing in most of Minnesota’s games this year, a 22.05 mph burst that was clocked by the NFL’s Next Gen Stats as the fastest in the league in 2018.That also demonstrated what the Vikings will need more of down the stretch with a daunting schedule ahead.Cook’s return from a hamstring injury that kept him out of five games was one of the most important developments of the season.“When you go to the zoo and you want to see a white tiger and they say, ‘He’s not coming out today, you’re disappointed and you’re like, ‘That’s why I bought the ticket, to see the white tiger,” quarterback Kirk Cousins said after the Vikings beat the Lions 24-9 on Nov. 4. “That’s Dalvin. When you get him, he’s special.”Though Latavius Murray has 439 total yards and five touchdowns over the past five games Olisaemeka Udoh Jersey nfl draft , Cook’s return will be vital toward continuing the revival of a running game that ranks 28th in the league with an average of 91.7 yards per game.The Vikings (5-3-1) play at NFC North-leading Chicago (6-3) on Sunday night in a game for control of the division. That’s one of three games over the next four for the Vikings that will be on the road and outdoors in northern cities.“I do think with some of these games as it starts to get colder, it is going to be more of a factor,” coach Mike Zimmer said. “I think we’re getting better at a lot of the areas in the running game. We have to continue searching for more ways to pound the ball.”When Cook was healthy in the season opener against San Francisco, the Vikings had 116 rushing yards. They then went four straight games with fewer than 20 rushing attempts and 77 rushing yards or fewer, until Murray produced a 155-yard performance on 24 carries in a victory over Arizona on Oct. 14 .Cook and Murray combined for 120 rushing yards against the Lions. The Vikings have averaged 124 rushing yards over the past four games, up from 65.8 yards per game on the ground over the first five weeks.“He has got a chance to hit home runs,” Zimmer said of Cook. “I think it was really good for him to get out there and get some game time action. When you haven’t played in six weeks and you haven’t practiced all that much, I think he will continue to get better.”The Vikings also claimed running back Ameer Abdullah last week after he was waived by the Lions. Abdullah, a second-round draft pick in 2015, only appeared in three games this year and carried the ball once. He averaged 3.8 yards per attempt in three seasons as the primary ball carrier Minnesota Vikings Jerseys 2019 , when he wasn’t injured, before being replaced by rookie Kerryon Johnson this season.“I’m entering a backfield with a lot of talent, Dalvin, we have Latavius and all the guys who’ve been here,” Abdullah said after practice on Monday. “Just coming in today and seeing these guys welcome me the way they have has been amazing for me. It does a lot for my confidence. It does a lot for my focus.”Abdullah will also be an option as a kickoff returner.“I’m ready to work,” he said. “Anything the Vikings ask me to do, I’m willing to do just because I’m so appreciative of the opportunity.” Sam Shields expects to be tested if the Los Angeles Rams do not have their two starting cornerbacks available against Minnesota on Thursday night.“That’s part of the game. Backups, hey, you gots to go at ’em,” Shields said Tuesday night.With Aqib Talib set to undergo surgery and the availability of Marcus Peters uncertain Olisaemeka Udoh Minnesota Vikings Jerseys , Shields, Troy Hill and Nickell Robey-Coleman are preparing for an expected challenge from Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins.The three cornerbacks looked to be up to the task based on how they performed in the Rams’ 35-23 win over the Chargers on Sunday after Peters and Talib were hurt. It wasn’t a surprise considering the experience of Shields, Hill and Robey-Coleman.Robey-Coleman has played 65 percent of the defensive snaps this season as the Rams’ slot corner. Hill started the final three games of the regular season and the Rams’ playoff loss last season. Shields made more than 60 starts during his seven seasons in Green Bay.“We can call the same calls with those guys. In fact, we did in the (last) ballgame,” defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. “I feel confident in those guys.”The trio will be called upon for an extended period of time as Talib will have surgery on his injured ankle Thursday. The Rams will get a better sense of the timetable for when the five-time Pro Bowl defensive back might be able to return after the procedure, Rams coach Sean McVay said.Peters is day to day, and McVay expects it will be a game-day decision to determine his status.“It’s a great representation of his toughness to even still have it be a chance that he’s going to play when you look at what occurred and you talk about what that position requires and entails in terms of the movements. He’s taking steps in the right direction,” McVay said.But Shields spoke as if he already knew he would be making his first start since Week 14 in 2015.“Me, Troy Hill, you know Youth Alexander Mattison Jersey , Robey, all us, we got to take care of the back end because two explosive guys out,” Shields said.Shields missed all of 2017 because of concussions, but has been effective in spot duty for the Rams, including making an interception against Arizona. Still, the 30-year-old feels as if he has something to prove and is relishing the opportunity to show it against his former NFC North rivals.“For me, it’s just kind of (a chance) to show the people that I still got it. I can still do it,” Shields said.Shields wasn’t the only one expressing the notion the backups would be on a mission. Starting safety Lamarcus Joyner does not expect a secondary that has allowed 199 yards per game and two touchdown passes to miss a beat just because the two high-profile offseason acquisitions in Talib and Peters might be absent.“I don’t know if you all heard, but we know we got two corners behind those guys that can start anywhere else in this league Super Bowl Alexander Mattison Jersey , including for this team,” Joyner said. “When you lose elite cornerbacks like that you still feel confident because you got another pair of great corners coming in.”Joyner believes the biggest challenge is getting familiar with how Hill and Shields express themselves on the field together in such a short amount of time. The Rams held two walkthroughs Tuesday, with Phillips likening the early session to a typical Wednesday practice and the afternoon stretch to the Thursday of a normal game week.Even with truncated preparations, the Rams defense is confident Shields, Hill and Robey-Coleman will be ready.“But if they test them, they are going to get intercepted just like Talib and Peters can do,” defensive lineman Aaron Donald said. “If one guy goes down, the other guys step up. They got big shoes to fill, but they’ll do it.”NOTES: OLB Dominique Easley (knee) would not have participated if the Rams had held a full practice Tuesday and is questionable. McVay said it was hard to gauge whether Easley would play because of the limited physical work leading up to Thursday night.