In perhaps the least surprising news of the week, Dalvin Cook has been nominated for the FedEx Ground Player of the Week.

Fans can vote here for the Vikings running back.

Cook produced the most impressive game on the ground so far in 2021, as he put up 205 rushing yards and two touchdowns Thursday night against the Steelers.

The 205 yards by Cook, who missed tying his career high by one yard, is currently the highest single-game total for a player in the league this season.

He accomplished the feat on 27 carries. Cook was paced by a dominant opening two quarters in which he set a franchise record for first-half rushing yards with 153.

Cook credited his teammates after the game for his dynamic outing, which was the ninth time (second for Cook) a Viking has rush for more than 200 yards in a game.

"Tight ends, receivers, they all did a good job of giving me the edge and giving me the opportunity to put my speed on and get to the edge," Cook said. "So you've gotta commend those guys up front for just opening those big holes up.

"The holes were big all night. So you've gotta give those guys credit up front. They're my guys," Cook added. "They did a great job of blocking for me … receivers, tight ends, everybody did a great job of blocking for me. I'm just hitting holes and trying to find some space out there."

Cook returned from a one-game absence as he dealt with a shoulder injury.

"He comes out and competes. He's a great leader," said Vikings Head Coach Mike Zimmer. "He's a great competitor. He wants to play."

Cook's performance helped the Vikings get to 6-7 on the season. Minnesota currently resides in the No. 8 seed in the NFC, one spot out of the playoffs.

The running back said Thursday that wins are the most important stat this team of year:

"You've got to play your best ball in December, so I had to show up for my team, and that's what it is," Cook said. "Whatever it takes, if I had 75 yards and we got a win, I'd be up here saying the same thing.

"I just want to win, and I know this team has got the same desire I've got. We just want to win games. We want to keep from winning like that," Cook added after yet another close game. "That's what we've got to go correct as a group. The leaders on this team have to keep pushing everybody on the team and clean a lot of stuff up and keep playing some good football."

Seattle's Rashaad Penny (16 carries for 137 yards and two scores) and Denver's Melvin Gordon (24 carries for 111 yards and two scores) are also up for the award.

Fans can vote here for Cook.

Pro Bowl voting wraps up this week

Time is running out to cast your Pro Bowl vote for your favorite Vikings players.

Voting for the annual All-Star game — both online and via social media — ends at 11:59 p.m. (ET)/10:59 p.m. (CT) on Thursday evening.

Fans can vote in an online ballot that can be found here.

NFL.com also outlined how fans can vote via social media:

Through the end of the voting period on Dec. 16, fans will also be able to vote directly on Twitter. To cast such a vote, fans should tweet the first and last name of the player, the player's official Twitter handle, or a hashtag including the player's first and last name. All three of these methods must include the hashtag: #ProBowlVote.

An important item to note: all votes on Wednesday and Thursday count as double.

As of Thursday, Vikings safety Harrison Smith was the top vote-getter at his position with 80,934 fans vote. Smith is a five-time Pro Bowl selection.