While the Vikings were waiting for the start of the national anthem Sunday night, tackle Rashod Hill looked up and told Pat Elflein's center: "You know who despises us, is not it? Tony is. "

"We started reciting all the one-liners and things that Tony would tell us at that time, if he was here," Elflein said. "Even though he's not physically present, I feel like he's still leading us."

If the Vikings had been able to play a bit of the pugnacious spirit of Tony Sparano, it was Sunday night. They ran just 22 yards in a defeat on Sunday against the Chicago Bears, in a match coach Mike Zimmer admitted stung the team. They then played another game Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers, knowing they would need better results from their match. offensive if they wanted to keep their playoff hopes in order.

Even if the method by which the Vikings revived their game on the ground was perhaps a little foreign to Sparano, his innovative spirit was not. Mixing a handful of throws to perfection, the Vikings racked up 29 yards on the ground, racking up 29 yards in a 24-14 win against the Packers, which seemed to allay their offensive concerns for the moment. .

"I really liked the balance we had on offense, the way we shared the ball," Zimmer said. "We were really close to scoring five or six points for big games; we have not blocked the last guy yet, but I thought we had done a good job there. "

Before the Vikings took over at 12:48 of the end, with 10 points ahead of the clock, they had run the ball only on 15 of their first 47 games, counting a run designed and a pair of jostling Cousins. .

They did not go more than 12 meters, and their three longest winnings of the night were decisive: a sweep of Stefon Diggs' jet that lasted 12 meters, a Cousins ​​rush for 11 and a throw Sweeping for Dalvin Cook – who lined up in the slot with Diggs lined up like a late half behind Cousins ​​- who won 9.

After the Bears game, however, the Vikings at least managed to find productive runs against the Packers and accumulated 31 yards on 56 yards on a fourth quarter practice in 6:57.

"You have a little space and give the ball to such good athletes in space – like a Diggs and [an Adam] Thielen and a cook, that's what they excel at, said center Pat Elflein. "They have a little work margin and they are so sporty that they can make the guys miss, rather than trying to dig in the A holes – which works too, but you can supplement it with fast games. If you can give the game leaders a little space to work, they can make great games. "

Cousins, who played his first game without change since Oct. 21, also took advantage of some of the mobility he showed in Washington, where he scored 323 yards and 13 touchdowns in three seasons as a starter.

At his post-match press conference Sunday, Cousins ​​brought up a sign in the team quarters room, which tells passers-by to get at least a first goal in a match. And when Cousins ​​and Zimmer were discussing outlets to avoid turnovers during a conversation last week, Zimmer reminded the quarterback that his mobility could be one of those outlets.

"What I said to him is basically:" If you have a quarter that is not going to run, the defenses will get additional coverage; they will not worry about that, "Zimmer said. "I just think it adds to everything we did last night. He made everything spring against the defense. Sometimes you talk about it, but maybe you do not insist on it until it's been successful in a game. Maybe talking to him a little more helped him this week. "

The Vikings added to that by reviving the game on the screen that had been an important part of their attack under Pat Shurmur, but which had remained dormant this season. Elflein took advantage of his mobility to go to Dalvin Cook at the 26-yard half-back touchdown, and Cook did the rest.

As the players relaxed on Monday after their victory, they will return to work Wednesday with a difficult task: prepare to face the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday afternoon. While the Vikings were able to regain some measure of their offensive pride against the Packers, an ingenious racing game contributed to its realization.

"I mean, the Bears, they're a tough defensive unit, you have guys like Khalil Mack and Akiem Hicks, I mean, all of their guys are good," said Elflein, "It's the NFL." Every night It was a difficult night, but we played better last night, we did better and everyone was doing their job. "