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.
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).