MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — With a new play caller in place Womens Stefon Diggs Jersey , the Minnesota Vikings recommitted to running the ball. hy, of taking over a game.Cook had a career-high 136 yards and two touchdowns on a season-high 19 carries for the Vikings, who stayed in control of a spot in the playoffs with a 41-17 victory over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday.“We just wanted to go out there and get back to playing like how we know we can play,” Cook said.Article continues below ...Latavius Murray added 68 rushing yards and a score on 15 of the team’s season-high 40 attempts. The Vikings (7-6-1) converted each of their first three drives under interim offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski into touchdowns, using a back-to-the-basics approach to build a big lead and lean on the defense down the stretch.“He knows the type of guys he has around him,” Cook said. “We’re going to give it 100 percent every play for him. He dialed it up today.”Anthony Barr and Danielle Hunter each had two of the nine sacks of Ryan Tannehill , totaling 71 lost yards for the Dolphins (7-7). Miami came crashing down from the euphoria of defeating New England with that double-lateral 69-yard score on the final play last week capped by Kenyan Drake’s race across the goal line.Minkah Fitzpatrick returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter and Kalen Ballage scored on a 75-yard run on the first snap of the second half to bring the Dolphins within 21-17. But on their next five possessions they netted a staggering minus-27 yards on 16 plays.“We’ve got to look in the mirror and ask ourselves how we want to finish the season,” Drake said.Tannehill finished 11 for 24 for 108 yards, as the Dolphins took just their fifth loss in the last 17 games he has started and saw their wild-card bid in the AFC take an even bigger hit. Baltimore, Indianapolis and Tennessee all won to move to 8-6 and leave Miami in ninth place in the conference race.“Obviously, things are out of our control at this point, but we’ve just got to keep playing,” Tannehill said. “Win the games we have left on our schedule Chuck Foreman Jersey , and whatever else happens is out of our hands.”Though Chicago won the NFC North by beating Green Bay, the Vikings moved a critical step closer to returning to the postseason. With enough help, they could clinch the second wild-card spot next week.Kirk Cousins threw touchdown passes to Stefon Diggs and Aldrick Robinson to make up for the pick-six. He went 14 for 21 for 215 yards for the Vikings, who posted their second-highest score in five years under coach Mike Zimmer.QUICK STARTThe Vikings were held under 285 total yards at Seattle last week for the fourth time in their last five games, so Zimmer made a last-ditch move to try to salvage the season by firing first-year offensive coordinator John DeFilippo and promoting Stefanski to replace him. One of Zimmer’s public criticisms of DeFilippo in recent weeks had been a lack of consistent commitment to establishing a running attack.“I think Kevin knew what I wanted,” Zimmer said, complimenting Stefanski for acting “calm and collected” throughout the week and during the game.The spark Zimmer sought was immediate, with the Vikings settling in nicely at home after two rough weeks on the road. They needed only 19 plays, keeping the ball on the ground 12 times, to cross the goal line on each of their first three possessions. Cousins, who has operated out of the shotgun for the majority of the season, was often under center while completing his first eight passes.“We couldn’t stop the run, and they were able to do all their play-actions off of that,” a downcast Dolphins coach Adam Gase said. “The last thing we needed to happen was to get behind like that.”TELLING STATSWith 202 yards http://www.thevikingslockerroom.com/authentic-fran-tarkenton-jersey , the Vikings gained the highest first-quarter total in the NFL in a season filled with prolific production nearly everywhere. It was their most points in the opening 15 minutes since a 28-point output on Oct. 9, 2011, against Arizona.Miami gave up 30-plus points for a sixth game this season and 400-plus yards for the ninth time this year.SHERELS SHINESThe special teams were sharp as ever for Minnesota, too, with Dan Bailey making all five of his extra points and both field-goal tries. Marcus Sherels set up one of those kicks with a 70-yard punt return and totaled 116 yards on five returns.INJURY REPORTDolphins: Frank Gore, the NFL’s active rushing leader, hurt his left ankle on the second-to-last play of the first quarter and didn’t return. … Fitzpatrick, the first-round pick who was drafted as a safety, started at CB for Xavien Howard for the second straight game. Howard, who entered the week tied for the league lead with seven interceptions, has a knee injury. … Backup DT Ziggy Hood (hamstring) limped off the field at the end of the third quarter.Vikings: Backup TE David Morgan (knee) returned from a four-game absence. CB Trae Waynes (concussion) was back after missing the last game.UP NEXTDolphins: Host Jacksonville (4-10) next Sunday.Vikings: Play at Detroit (5-9) next Sunday. The New York Jets were in this exact spot a year ago.They were 3-4 after seven games and at a crossroads in their season 鈥?which quickly spiraled from that point. The Jets lost the following week and won only two more games the rest of the way while stumbling to a 5-11 finish.Safety Jamal Adams insisted there will be no repeat performance this year."Not going to happen," a defiant Adams said after a 37-17 loss to Minnesota on Sunday . "I'm not going to let that happen. Plain and simple."The Jets had gotten back to .500 with victories at home against Denver and Indianapolis, and were looking to sweep their first three-game homestand since 1974.Instead, turnovers 鈥?four of them 鈥?and missed opportunities ruined that chance against the Vikings."It's not like they came in here and just smacked us Womens Paul Krause Jersey ," linebacker Darron Lee said. "It's nothing to sit here and hit the panic button about. We're fine. No one is worried or panicking here. We're fine as a group. We're a lot more close-knit (than last season)."Kirk Cousins threw two touchdown passes, Latavius Murray ran for two scores, and the Vikings (4-2-1) pulled away in the second half for their third straight victory.Lee was right: Minnesota didn't exactly roll over New York. But it did more than enough to temper the simmering confidence and good vibes Jets fans were feeling coming into the game.Now, New York has to prevent the disappointment from lingering 鈥?and turning into more losses."I know in a couple years past, since I've been here, the wheels have fallen off and all hell would break loose," Lee said. "But we're fine, and no one is panicking here. We weren't as close-knit as a group as we are now. Nobody has got their head hanging down."In his first game against the Jets since spurning their massive offer in free agency, Cousins was far from spectacular but made some big plays late. With the game still hanging in the balance and the Vikings facing fourth-and-8 from the 34, Cousins connected with Aldrick Robinson for a TD to seal it.Cousins, 25 of 40 for 241 yards, opted to turn down New York's three-year, $90 million deal in the offseason and instead chose to go to Minnesota, which actually signed him to a deal worth $6 million less. The Jets insisted this loss didn't sting any more than usual because it was against Cousins."We don't care John Randle Jersey ," Lee said. "We only care about us and this team. Don't try to make this about him. We don't care. No one ever spoke about that all week. No one cared."After Cousins made his decision, the Jets turned their attention to the draft, where they selected Sam Darnold with the No. 3 overall pick.In their first meeting, Cousins came out on top 鈥?while Darnold struggled on a cold, windy day.The rookie was 17 of 42 for 206 yards with a TD pass to Chris Herndon and a TD run, but was intercepted three times as New York's two-game winning streak ended."I've just got to find completions," Darnold said. "That's really it. And, we've got to do a better job executing."Jason Myers, who set the franchise record with seven field goals last Sunday, kicked a 55-yarder to cut the Jets' deficit to 10 at 27-17 with 2:39 remaining in the third. New York finally converted its first third down of the game after missing on its first seven opportunities on Darnold's 6-yard run on third-and-5, but the drive was short-circuited by drops by Isaiah Crowell and Eric Tomlinson."Nothing clicked for the offense today," coach Todd Bowles said.Or, on special teams, for the most part.Tarell Basham was penalized for being offside on the game's opening kickoff 鈥?a bad omen. There was later a muffed punt return by Andre Roberts http://www.thevikingslockerroom.com/authentic-cris-carter-jersey , who was able to recover; a bad snap from Thomas Hennessy to punter Lachlan Edwards, who had to field the ball off the turf; and a 28-yard punt by Edwards that helped lead to another score for Minnesota."Errors in all three phases were critical," Bowles said. "Every time you give up field position in a game like this against a good team, you're going to have a problem. We can't make those mistakes."Not if the Jets have their sights set on being in the playoff mix late in the season.And, especially if they intend on getting back to winning, starting next Sunday at Chicago."You've just got to stay positive, and understand that we played a good football team and they made more plays than we did," Adams said. "We've got to do the little things right at all times and always preach that. We've just got to be more consistent at it."
