Dalvin Cook Returns From Shoulder Injury to Deliver Masterful Performance for Vikings

Cook fell just shy of his career high with 205 rushing yards against the Steelers on Thursday night.

Up until Thursday morning, Dalvin Cook wasn't even expected to play against the Steelers. Frankly, it was understandable to wonder whether or not it was a good idea to bring him back just 11 days after he was carted off the field in San Francisco with a dislocated shoulder and torn labrum.

But Cook, who watched the Vikings suffer a brutal loss against the Lions without him, wanted to play. So he attacked his rehab ferociously, saw quick improvement in his shoulder, and was able to gain medical clearance for a critical primetime game the Vikings needed to have.

Cook didn't just play on Thursday night — he carved up the Steelers' defense in one of the finest performances of his career. Rocking a harness on his left shoulder, the Vikings' superstar running back reminded the entire football world of his greatness with an eye-popping display of quickness and acceleration. He ran for 205 yards and two touchdowns in the Vikings' 36-28 victory, adding a big 17-yard catch late in the game to give him 222 yards from scrimmage on 28 touches. It was Cook's fourth career game going over 200 total yards, and he came just one rushing yard away from his career high.

“'Turn it loose,' Cook said. "Just shout-out to the trainers, coaches, everybody that adds something — the strength and conditioning coaches, for me getting back so quickly. It was devastating, just me going down that week. So I’m just happy to be back, happy we got the win, and my coaches know, once I tell them I’m good, I’m good. There’s no holding me back. Just turn me loose. I just appreciate them for believing in me, just trusting in who I am."

Cook got off to a ridiculous start that began with him ripping off 20 yards on his first carry of the night. By the time the first quarter was over, he was at 73 yards on just five carries. When he strolled into the end zone for a second-quarter touchdown that put the Vikings up 16-0, he was at 117 yards on seven carries — 16.7 yards per tote. He added another touchdown run later in the quarter and finished the first half with 153 yards, which broke Adrian Peterson's nine-year-old franchise record for rushing yards in a half.

To be fair, just about anyone could've picked up decent yardage on some of the massive holes the Vikings' blockers opened up for Cook in the first half. It was like the Steelers' defense wasn't even there at times.

"Tight ends, receivers, they all did a good job of giving me the opportunity to put my speed on and get to the edge," Cook said. "So you’ve gotta commend those guys up front for just opening those big holes up. The holes were big all night. So you’ve gotta give those guys credit up front. They’re my guys. They did a great job of blocking for me tonight. Receivers, tight ends, everybody did a great job of blocking for me tonight. I’m just hitting holes and trying to find some space out there."

Dalvin Cook had room to run all game during the #Vikings 36-28 victory over the Steelers.

Cook was expected to gain at least 5 yards on 15 of his 27 carries, the most such carries in a game by any player over the last three seasons.#PITvsMIN | #Skol pic.twitter.com/yqdjqjrRHu

— Next Gen Stats (@NextGenStats) December 10, 2021

Cook was hardly touched early on, which allowed him to get into a rhythm and avoid painful contact to his shoulder. But he deserves plenty of credit for his huge evening as well. He made decisive cuts, found the open areas of the field, and used his burst to reach the second level and pick up chunk after chunk. Cook was easily on pace for a career day when he got to 179 yards midway through the third, but thing got dicey after that as the Vikings nearly blew a 29-0 lead, only emerging victorious with a pass breakup in the end zone on the game's final play. It would've been the biggest regular season collapse in the NFL history.

One big reason why the Vikings escaped with a much-needed win? Cook's lone catch of the game was a huge one. Leading 36-28 with the just under three minutes to play, the Vikings faced a third-and-9 from their 26-yard line. Cook beat Steelers linebacker Marcus Allen on a route up the seam, caught a perfect pass from Kirk Cousins, then held on through a big hit for a 17-yard gain. Even though the Vikings didn't score on that drive, Cook's catch forced the Steelers to use all three of their timeouts and helped Minnesota's field position. If they don't pick up that first down, the Steelers would've had a much simpler task in trying to tie the game.

Watching Cook play on Thursday, it was easy to forget that he was dealing with any sort of injury, much less one serious enough that there were concerns his season might've been over when he went down against the 49ers.

It was good that Cook suffered an upper-body injury in San Francisco and didn't do anything to his lower half. Still, a torn labrum would keep most players out for at least a couple weeks. It's a testament to Cook's remarkable work ethic and competitiveness that he was able to get back on the field just 11 days later.

"He’s a warrior," Mike Zimmer said. "He comes out and competes. He’s a great leader. He’s a great competitor. He wants to play. Eric Sugarman, our trainer, texted him today and said 'Hey, are you sure you’re OK and good to go?' He said I have no regrets, I’m good to go. He said that’s why I do this, I want to play. That’s the kind of guy he is. There was no doubt in his mind he was playing tonight."

"On Sunday, when they were playing [the Lions], I was doing my own rehab," Cook said. "They had taken me through rehab all week, so I kind of knew what I needed to do when I got home. I got a setup at home where I’ve been doing all this stuff, and I was just doing stuff at home, and I’m moving around, and I’m like, ‘I feel good.’ And the next day I go in, I tell [Sugarman] how I feel, I see the doc, they test me out. The only thing I had to do was go show them my strength was back and everything was back, and I was good. They were still kind of skeptical about it, but they trust and believe that I won’t put myself in harm’s way to go out there and not be productive for the team. I just commend the coaches for believing in me."

When it came to his return, Cook led the charge. The Vikings, who have a capable backup in Alexander Mattison, weren't urging him to come back. Of course they all wanted a star player and important leader like Cook back as soon as possible, but not if it was too soon. He was the one who pushed hard to play and proved to everyone that he was ready. And Cook backed up his belief in himself by going out and having one of the greatest games of his career on a national stage, helping lead the Vikings to a victory that they probably don't get if he was inactive.

"I feel like any guy in the locker room would do the same for the team," Cook said. "I think that’s the type of group we’ve got in that locker room, the type of team we’ve got, the type of grit these guys have. I would do anything for this team, anything for this team to win. I won’t put myself in harm’s way if I can’t go out there and compete, but this little shoulder won't hold me back from helping this team win football games."

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