Sure, the Vikings could have put the Bears away on Sunday, if they had managed to eek out a touchdown on one of the three drives that led to field goals late in the game.
But they didn’t, and we know now that the knockout punched delivered by Jay Cutler’s 16-yard TD to Martellus Bennett (aka “The Black Unicorn“) was The Play of The Game.
Vikings DB Chris Cook was the lone defender on Bennett, and, frankly, it looked like blown coverage on his part. But we didn’t know because Cook didn’t talk to the media after Sunday’s game.
But he spoke Monday to ESPN, and here’s what he had to say: “It was a play that I could have made, should have made,” Cook said. “I’ve made it before.”
Cook was motioning for a defender to slide over to his side of the field before the play, when both Bennett and wide receiver Earl Bennett were on his side of the field. He initially went with Earl Bennett, opening his hips and allowing Martellus Bennett to get behind him and catch Cutler’s back-shoulder throw for a touchdown.
Safety Harrison Smith, who didn’t talk to reporters on Monday, said after the game that he thought he put Cook “in a bad spot” on the play, and took the blame himself.
Meanwhile, linebacker Chad Greenway tells 1500 ESPN that communication issues on the final drive produced the game-winning touchdown.
“I didn’t want to talk yesterday,” Cook tells 1500 ESPN. “I was a little emotional.”
But he’s a little more open with the national ESPN reporter: “A few guys were off,” Cook said. “And when guys are off, other guys try to cover it to help them out, and things happen. It’s football, man. It’s a fast game.”
