No. A Black rook would have allowed black to b8b7 and block the white rook from the final checkmate. A knight, on the other hand, would not be able to block the

No. A Black rook would have allowed black to b8b7 and block the white rook from the final checkmate. A knight, on the other hand, would not be able to block the white rook and would therefore result in a checkmate.