If we wind the clock back to Halloween, it would be reasonable to wonder if Aaron Jones and Dalvin Cook were right at the end of the road. Both are older backs, and neither was doing much at that time. But they showed on Saturday that they have a little something left.
Especially Jones, who struggled with injuries for most of the season. He’s healthy now, and he closed the season by running for over 100 yards in each of his last five games. He also averaged at least 5 yards per carry in each of those games. He averaged more than 3.6 per attempt in only half of his other eight games.
Jones is 29, but I would think the Packers will have him back in 2024, probably using him in combination with another back. (They will not want to head into the season without a quality second back in place.)
Since the merger in 1970, only eight other backs who were at least 29 years old have run for 100-plus yards five games in a row. Half of those seasons were put together by Barry Sanders and Walter Payton.
| OLDER BACKS / 100-YARD GAMES | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Player | Team | Age | Streak |
| 1997 | Barry Sanders | Det. | 29 | 14 |
| 1985 | Walter Payton | Chi. | 32 | 9 |
| 1984 | Walter Payton | Chi. | 31 | 6 |
| 1987 | Charles White | LAR | 29 | 5 |
| 1998 | Barry Sanders | Det. | 30 | 5 |
| 2002 | Priest Holmes | K.C. | 29 | 5 |
| 2005 | Tiki Barber | NYG | 30 | 5 |
| 2007 | Fred Taylor | Jac. | 31 | 5 |
| 2023 | Aaron Jones | G.B. | 29 | 5 |
| 1976 | O.J. Simpson | Buff. | 29 | 4 |
| 1983 | John Riggins | Was. | 34 | 4 |
| 1998 | Gary Brown | NYG | 29 | 4 |
| 2001 | Jerome Bettis | Pitt. | 29 | 4 |
| 2003 | Marshall Faulk | St.L. | 30 | 4 |
| 2003 | Stephen Davis | Car. | 29 | 4 |
| 2004 | Corey Dillon | N.E. | 30 | 4 |
| 2004 | Jerome Bettis | Pitt. | 32 | 4 |
Statistics compiled using search tools at Pro-Football-Reference.com
Cook (who’s 28) also caught my eye on Saturday. All of his carries came in the second half of the fourth quarter, but it looks like he has a little something left. He ripped off a 19-yard gainer on his first team, looking not dramatically different than he has the last two years in Minnesota. Losing 3 yards on each of his final 2 carries, he finished with 23 yards on 8 attempts, but he looked fine.
I did not see enough sizzle from Cook that I expect he will be outperforming Gus Edwards or Justice Hill next week. Edwards is definitely their goal-line back and inside power runner, while Hill is a small back with some zip. Hill carried 13 times for 66 yards yesterday, and he’s chipped in some plays as a pass catcher. But Cook gives them another back to work with, and he’ll be particularly important if either of those guys gets hurt.
—Ian Allan