Dalvin Cook Finally Breaks a Long One to Seal a Vikings Win in His Hometown
Five games into the 2022 season, Dalvin Cook was still looking for the long one. A run where he bursts through a hole, makes somebody miss, and turns on the burners in the open field. After racking up 22 runs of at least 20 yards over the past three seasons — fourth-most in the league during that span — Cook's longest run through five weeks was just 16 yards.
The Vikings weren't worried. Cook and his coaches were confident that it was coming — that the run game would start to generate some big plays if they kept at it. "I think those will come," offensive coordinator Wes Phillips said earlier this month.
On Sunday, it finally happened. As it turns out, Cook was just waiting for a big moment in the perfect place.
The Vikings led 16-10 late in the fourth quarter of Cook's first NFL game in his hometown. It had been a quiet game for him so far; the Dolphins had bottled him up while forcing three and outs on ten of the Vikings' first 12 offensive possessions. But all it takes is one play, and with dozens of his family members and friends watching from the stands, the sixth-year running back from Miami finally got loose.
Cook took the handoff from Kirk Cousins and patiently followed fullback C.J. Ham to the left, waiting for his offensive line to make its blocks. When the hole opened up between left guard Ezra Cleveland and right guard Ed Ingram, Cook was ready. He planted his foot and hit the hole, gradually picking up speed.
All that was left to do was make one man miss at the second level. Cook put a move on second-year Dolphins safety Jevon Holland and just like that, there was nothing in front of him but daylight. That's when Cook turned on the jets, exceeding 20 miles per hour as he outran three Miami defenders to the end zone.
It was a perfectly executed wide zone run. The offensive line did its job by creating the hole. Cook's patience caused the defense to flow to the play side, setting up the cutback lane. And Cook did the rest, bursting past Holland and taking it all the way.
"That's the type of run, that cut, that's a game-changing cut that only certain players in this league can make," head coach Kevin O'Connell said. "It was a critical run for us at a big moment in the game."
Just minutes earlier, the Dolphins were threatening to take the lead. A Harrison Smith forced fumble got the Vikings the ball back, and just two Cook runs later, Minnesota had its two-score lead back. That run was a crucial play in the 24-16 victory that sent the Vikings to 5-1 on the season.
You know that one had to feel special for Cook. He had gone nearly six full games without breaking one of the long runs he's been known for since his college days at Florida State. This game, in particular, meant a little bit more to Cook, and his teammates knew it. That much is clear in the excitement players like Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen showed while celebrating with Cook after the touchdown.
"I couldn’t be happier for him," Thielen said. "When I saw him take off, that’s all I was thinking about. Him being back home, how much this place means to him, how much Minnesota means to him and just all that he is doing for this community and the impact he’s making just by being the person he is. Getting out of a place like this, and representing it, I just think it is so cool that he can score that touchdown in front of so many people that I know were here to support him."
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