Quick turnaround for Vikings to prep for Thursday night game

EAGAN, Minn. (KMSP) - It’s a short turnaround for the Minnesota Vikings after their loss to the Buffalo Bills as they must prepare for a game Thursday night against the Los Angeles Rams.

Running back Dalvin Cook, who sat out Sunday’s game, says his knee feels great – a good sign for playing on Thursday. He says it was tough having to watch the 27-6 blowout from the sidelines.

“It’s always unfortunate when you’re not able to go out and compete with your team,” said Cook. “It’s always frustrating. But the game as far as running wise just got out of hand fast, so you know we had to throw the ball. So that’s why the stats look how they look.”

For the players, it’s all about putting the Bills game in the rearview mirror and shifting their attention to what’s ahead.

“The good thing about a short week is you don’t have to sit there and wait the seven days til next game,” said Brett Jones, Vikings center. “You know you can get moving on the next team and it’s on Thursday, so you don’t have to sit there and wait. We can just keep focusing on L. A. and move past this one.”

“It’s a tough loss, but I think we’re ready to dive right into L. A., “ said Pat Elflein, Vikings center. “It’s a short week. We have to get on them right away. Get our focus on them.”

“They have a really good system and they know how to execute it,” said Stephen Weatherly, Vikings defensive end. “I think that’s why they’re so efficient on third down and our job is to make sure they are not as efficient going into it, whether that’s changing up some of the things we throw at them or trying to take care of some of their better weapons.”

The focus is now on how to beat the Rams on the road and to tune out Sunday’s loss and all the white noise. Any mistakes and question marks from Sunday need to be addressed quickly as the Vikings prove to themselves exactly who they are.

“It’s very important,” said Danielle Hunter, Vikings defensive end. “After this game, we gotta go out there, find our mistakes, fix them and move on to the next opponent. It’s early in the season, so we get to learn from what we did wrong, what we did right and build from there.”

The Vikings take on the Rams Thursday night at 7:20 p.m. CT on Fox 9.