In just nine snaps with the Ravens, running back Dalvin Cook has already bested his 14 games with the New York Jets.
In 15 games, the four-time Pro Bowler finished with 214 yards, picking up 3.2 yards per attempt and 14.3 yards per game. His longest rush? Fourteen yards.
Cook signed with the Ravens’ practice squad in the postseason. On Thursday, ahead of their first playoff game, a 34-10 victory over the Houston Texans, the Ravens elevated Cook to the active roster. With Gus Edwards and Justice Hill ahead of him on the depth chart, Cook didn’t see much action in the first three quarters.
But when he was handed the ball for the first time in the fourth quarter, he popped off a 19-yard run, his longest of the season.
“It felt great to help the team in any way,” Cook said after the divisional-round game. “Like I’ve said all week, I don’t care what my role is. If I get a chance to help this team, I’ll do it any way I can. That’s my motto.”
Behind a Ravens’ offensive line that’s helped the team lead the league in most rushing yards per game, Cook finished with eight carries for 23 yards. He had a few negative rushes at the end of the game, which hurt his yards per carry, but they were in garbage time behind the team’s backups. To coach John Harbaugh, it was a good demonstration of what Cook can add to the team.
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“I thought he looked really good out there,” Harbaugh said Monday. “He ran hard, showed his skill set off and got us those yards at the end of the game, along with Justice, too, to help up us seal it away. It’s one more really good player whose hands we can put the ball into. And that’s a good thing.”
For a Ravens team that has struggled with keeping their running backs healthy, that’s critical. They’ve already lost J.K. Dobbins (Achilles tendon) and Keaton Mitchell (knee) to season-ending injuries. Both Hill and Edwards dealt with injuries at the beginning of the season. Edwards also left the game against Houston with an injury, although Harbaugh said after the game that he’s OK.
Cook is thankful to have the opportunity to be a part of a team he said is “something special.”
“This feels great,” he said after the game. “It feels amazing. You just have to appreciate the moments. I just thank the Baltimore Ravens, the whole organization, for bringing me in and putting me around these great people. From the moment I got here, you can feel the energy. They welcomed me with open arms.”