The Minnesota Vikings lost to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night to move to 0-2 on the season. The Vikings offseason was highlighted by the release of veteran running back Dalvin Cook. It seemed like his backup, Alexander Mattison, would waltz into the starting role and perform as well as he did when he was Cook’s backup. Through two games, Mattison has vastly underperformed.
Mattison faced the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1. He finished with 11 carries for 34 yards, three receptions for 10 yards and a score. The touchdown greatly helped things, but his Week 2 performance showed he may be touchdown-dependent. Against the Eagles, Mattison carried the ball eight times for 28 yards and added 11 yards on three receptions. He also lost a fumble.
From now on, you can’t feel like he is startable until he shows a huge turnaround. Minnesota always felt like a run first team, but they are airing the ball out to prolific pass-catchers Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison and T.J. Hockenson. Cousins has 708 passing yards through two games compared to the team’s 69 rushing yards. Mattison and the Vikings will face the Los Angeles Chargers in Week 3, and you will want to look into backup options for Mattison going forward.