Cook, Kamara make Vikings, Saints go
Dynamic runners likely to play pivotal roles in wild-card showdown
NEW ORLEANS — The Dalvin and Alvin show is coming to the Superdome.
And the stakes are a lot higher than the last time they shared the stage as NFL debutants three seasons ago.
Vikings running back Dalvin Cook and Saints rusher Alvin Kamara look primed to play pivotal roles when the Saints (13-3) host the Vikings (10-6) on Sunday in the wild-card round of the NFC playoffs.
They are two of the most dynamic running backs in the league capable of breaking off big gains as runners or receivers.
Saints coach Sean Payton said Cook, who’s returning from a shoulder injury that sidelined him the last two weeks of the regular season, has a “substantial” influence on the Vikings offense.
“He has extremely good balance. He’s a strong runner and has outstanding speed,” Payton said.
Vikings coach Mike Zimmer sounds as if he could be talking about Cook when he is in fact discussing the challenge Kamara presents to Minnesota’s defense.
“He’s extremely shifty in the way he runs, but he’s a physical runner as well,” Zimmer said. “Catches the ball out of the backfield, runs good routes. The thing that impresses me is that not very often does one guy bring him down. He slips and steps up out of tackles . ... He can go the distance at any time.”
Cook had the better NFL debut, gashing the Saints for 127 yards rushing in a 29-19 Vikings victory to open the 2017 season.
But while Cook’s rookie campaign was ended prematurely by a major knee injury, Kamara blossomed into the offensive rookie of the year, with 1,554 yards and 13 TDs from scrimmage in 2017.
This season was Kamara’s least productive because of nagging knee and ankle ailments that sidelined him for a couple midseason games. But Kamara increasingly regained form as the playoffs approached, rushing for four TDs in the last two weeks.
Kamara also is a playoff veteran, having played four postseason games.
Cook is making his playoff debut after fulfilling the promise he showed before tearing up his knee in October of 2017.
In 14 games this season, he gained 1,135 yards and scored 13 TDs rushing while catching 53 passes for 519 yards.
“You’ve seen the kind of football that we play with him,” Vikings receiver Stefon Diggs said of Cook.
“He definitely changed the game.”