Mattison rushed eight times for 39 yards and brought in two of three targets for three yards in the Vikings' 22-17 win over the 49ers on Monday night.

EDGE Analysis

Mattison outpaced backfield mate Cam Akers by eight yards while compiling a team-high total, but the latter logged two additional carries. The workload split had been much more expansive between the two in Week 6 against the Bears, when Mattison had taken 18 carries to Akers' one. Whether the drastic change Monday night is indicative of what the division of labor between the two might look like moving forward remains to be seen, but both backs will have an appealing matchup against the Packers' suspect run defense on the road Week 8.

Mattison rushed 18 times for 44 yards and brought in four of seven targets for 28 yards in the Vikings' 19-13 win over the Bears on Sunday.

EDGE Analysis

Mattison notably outpaced backfield mate Cam Akers by 17 carries after there was only a three-carry difference between the two in Week 5. However, as has been the case more often than not this season, Mattison was unable to do much with his opportunities on the ground, although he did put together a solid showing as a receiver. The fifth-year back does seem to have a firm hold of the lead back job, however, but he lines up for another tough matchup against the 49ers in Week 7 on Monday night, Oct. 23.

Mattison carried the ball eight times for 26 yards and caught two of three targets for 20 yards and a touchdown in Sunday's 27-20 loss to Kansas City.

EDGE Analysis

The Vikings' running game had no success on the day -- Cam Akers managed only 15 rushing yards on five carries -- but Mattison's nine-yard TD catch on a screen pass from Kirk Cousins early in the fourth quarter brought Minnesota within a score. The fifth-year RB then dropped another potential touchdown on the team's next possession, however. Mattison is still looking for his first rushing touchdown of the year to go with his two receiving TDs, and he appears to be drifting into a timeshare with Akers heading into a Week 6 clash with the Bears.

Mattison rushed 17 times for 95 yards in Sunday's 21-13 win over the Panthers. He also caught his only target for three yards.

EDGE Analysis

Mattison was efficient on the ground, posting season highs in rushing yards and yards per carry. The tailback has now topped 95 scrimmage yards in consecutive games, which should help his case to maintain the Vikings' starting tailback job ahead of Cam Akers, who finished with 51 yards on seven touches in his team debut Sunday.

Mattison rushed the ball 20 times for 93 yards in Sunday's 28-24 loss to the Chargers. He added five receptions for 32 yards.

EDGE Analysis

Cam Akers (coach's decision) was inactive after being acquired earlier in the week, leaving Mattison as the lead back once again. Mattison made the case to keep the role moving forward with production as both a rusher and receiver. Entering Sunday's action, he had just 62 total yards on the ground through two games, but he managed to easily surpass that mark with four of his 20 carries going for double-digit gains. Mattison also has at least four targets in every contest this season, though it remains to be seen how the Vikings plan to incorporate Akers into the offense, presumably starting in Week 4 against Carolina.

Coach Kevin O'Connell told reporters Friday that he still views Mattison as the Vikings' lead back after a recent trade for Cam Akers, who is unlikely to play this Sunday against the Chargers, Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com reports.

EDGE Analysis

O'Connell went as far as saying nothing has changed for Mattison despite his rough start to the season and now the addition of a 2020 second-round pick to Minnesota's backfield. In reality, Mattison is on the hot seat, though Akers won't necessarily provide the stiffest competition given his inconsistent tenure in Los Angeles. Akers finished his rookie year strong and had a nice four-week stretch to close out last season, but it's otherwise been a series of demotions and subpar performances ever since he tore his Achilles in the summer of 2021. O'Connell said Akers won't be ready to play for his new team this Sunday, giving Mattison at least one more game with only Ty Chandler taking away any backfield snaps.

The Vikings have not lost confidence in Mattison despite Wednesday's trade for Cam Akers, offensive coordinator Wes Phillips told reporters Thursday. "Unfortunately we've had a couple turnovers in the run game where we obviously need to clean that up. Everyone's aware of that. But we still feel very strongly in Alex and [backup Ty Chandler] and those guys being able to go in and produce," Phillips told ESPN.

EDGE Analysis

Mattison has had a slow start to the season with a lost fumble in Week 2 and just 62 yards rushing on 19 carries for a paltry 3.3 YPC. Akers may not play much this week against the Chargers as he gets up to speed on the offense, but could quickly move past Ty Chandler for the backup role. Given Mattison's struggles, it's not hard to envision Akers moving into a time share with Mattison. However, Akers still has much to prove after his own underwhelming performance this season (29 yards rushing on 22 attempts in Week 1).

Mattison rushed eight times for 28 yards and brought in three of six targets for 11 yards in the Vikings' 34-28 loss to the Eagles on Thursday night. He also lost a fumble.

EDGE Analysis

Mattison had what had to be considered a second straight disappointing performance to open the season, finding running room at a premium for the most part and then also seeing his overall opportunities limited by game script. The fifth-year pro was also fortunate his first-quarter fumble didn't lead to any points, as the Eagles' Justin Evans recovered at the Vikings' 39-yard line. Mattison has garnered less than 35 rushing yards in each of his first two games as Minnesota's unquestioned lead back, leaving him with little momentum heading into what could be a solid Week 3 home matchup against the Chargers on Sunday, Sept. 24.

Mattison rushed 11 times for 34 yards and brought in three of four targets for 10 yards and a touchdown in the Vikings' 20-17 loss to the Buccaneers on Sunday.

EDGE Analysis

Playing his first game as the Vikings' unquestioned lead back, Mattison came up considerably short statistically overall, even when factoring in his early fourth-quarter receiving touchdown. The fifth-year back was repeatedly stifled by a traditionally tough Buccaneers run defense, so perhaps the highly inefficient performance -- which featured a long run of just nine yards -- will prove to be an outlier over time. However, Mattison doesn't exactly get a reprieve in his Week 2 matchup, a road date with the Eagles on a short week Thursday night.

The Vikings enter Week 1 with only Ty Chandler and Myles Gaskin behind Mattison on the depth chart, the Star Tribune reports.

EDGE Analysis

Mattison dealt with a minor injury in early August and didn't play in any preseason games, but he's been back in practice for a while now and is all set to lead the Minnesota backfield Week 1 against Tampa Bay. The extent of his workload remains to be seen, with a dominant share one of the possibilities given that Chandler and Gaskin are late-round picks in their mid-20s who combined for 20 touches last season. Both seem most likely to take playing time from Mattison in passing situations, if at all.