Saints-Vikings a battle of top RBs – Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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 rookies three seasons ago.

Vikings running back Dalvin Cook and Saints rusher Alvin Kamara look primed to play pivotal roles when New Orleans (13-3) hosts Minnesota (10-6) today 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 is returning from a shoulder injury that sidelined him the last two weeks of the regular season, has a “substantial” influence on Minnesota’s offense.

“He has extremely good balance. He’s a strong runner and has outstanding speed,” Payton said. “You watch countless 15- to 25-yard gains by him and that’s hard to do.”

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 touchdowns in the past 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.”

Cook said he feels “refreshed” and that the Vikings’ relative good health puts them in position to compete with a Saints squad that tied for the top record in the NFC, but missed out on a bye in a three-way tiebreaker with San Francisco and Green Bay.

“No matter what they did during the regular season, new season, new start,” Cook said. “Everybody’s going to be ready to go. It should be a fun matchup.”

With Cook and backup running back Alexander Mattison set to return from their injuries and wide receiver Adam Thielen back on track after an extended absence, quarterback Kirk Cousins will have his full complement of pass-catchers and ball carriers for the first time in 2½ months. Thielen took only 16 snaps during a seven-game span because of a hamstring injury and finished the 2019 regular season with only one 100-yard game, down from nine in 2018.

“We’re excited to have him as a part of this attack,” offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski said of Thielen. “We’ll see how the game unfolds. If it calls for a big day from him, I think he’ll be ready.”

Vikings at Saints

Noon (Fox)

LINE — Saints by 8

SERIES — Vikings lead 22-12; Saints

beat Vikings 30-20, Oct. 28, 2018

ON OFFENSE

(RK) VIKINGS VS. SAINTS (RK)

(6) 133.3 RUSH 108.6 (16)

(23) 220.2 PASS 265.2 (7)

(16) 353.5 YARDS 373.8 (9)

(8) 25.4 POINTS 28.6 (3)

ON DEFENSE

(RK) VIKINGS VS. SAINTS (RK)

(13) 108.0 RUSH 91.3 (4)

(15) 233.6 PASS 241.8 (20)

(14) 341.6 YARDS 333.1 (11)

(5) 18.9 POINTS 21.3 (13)

WHAT TO WATCH RB Dalvin Cook will make his playoff debut, and Minnesota could feed him the ball at will. Cook had 127 rushing yards in his only career game against the Saints in 2017. He had six TDs rushing in eight road games in 2019 and became the third RB in Vikings’ history, along with Ted Brown and Chuck Foreman, with at least 1,000 yards rushing (1,135) and 500 yards receiving (519) in the same season.

Injured Minnesota Vikings running back Dalvin Cook sits on the bench during the second half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers, Monday, Dec. 23, 2019, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Andy Clayton-King)

Sports on 01/05/2020