Viktor
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- Mar 19, 2019
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But in a game on national television, Cook showed off his dual-threat ability for everyone to see.
He had 26 carries for 97 hard-earned yards, with his touchdown run coming on a 2-yard scamper into the end zone on fourth down.
And Cook set a season-high with seven catches while tying his season-best of 86 receiving yards.
Big plays early on were the theme for Cook, who had gains of 30 and 27 yards on screen passes in the first quarter. He also had another 12-yard reception in the opening period.
Cook explained how his involvement in the passing game affects the Vikings offense.
“Just hoping to get some 1-on-1 matchups with some linebackers. Just winning in space and creating more first downs,” Cook said. “I know [Stefon] Diggs is getting doubled a lot with Adam [Thielen] out, so trying to get some 1-on-1s with linebackers and create new downs. Just trying to win my matchup.
“It’s just about slowing a team down,” Cook added about screen passes. “I think the screen game, you can start with it, you can throw it in there [later]. It just depends on the type of defense you’re facing. With a defense like Dallas that is trying to get to the passer, that pretty much helped us out.”
Vikings quarterback Kirk Cousins said Wednesday he enjoys his vantage point on screen passes, as he just makes sure Cook gets the ball and then watches the electrifying running back go to work.
“When you hit a screen for 20, 30 yards, your receiving yards are going to balloon pretty quickly. It’s not like we’ve put him out there and thrown him post routes,” Cousins said. “But when you give him a pass in the flat and he makes two guys miss, it turns into a 12, 13-yard gain, that’s going to start to add up quickly.
“Many times plays where he’s getting the football are screens or it’s even a play-action pass where he wasn’t the primary or secondary target,” Cousins added. “He was the third target but gets the football when they take other people away and he does a great job after the catch.”
Cousins’ alluded to an unheralded but effective part of Cook’s game — the ability to make people miss once he catches the ball.
According to analytics website Pro Football Focus, Cook has caught the ball an average of 1.2 yards behind the line of scrimmage on average in 2019.
But he leads the league with 11 explosive receptions of 15 or more yards, and is tied with Chargers back Austin Ekeler with 16 missed tackles forced on his catches.
Cook has 40 receptions for 424 yards in 2019, the second-most receptions on the Vikings. Ekeler has 57 catches for 559 yards and six scores.