James

Cook

Despite looking like the surest bet the Bills had — 6.5 yards a carry was three yards better than anyone else the Bills used — the Bills bafflingly split Cook’s workload and left him with just 33 of 73 total snaps. Cook keyed a go-ahead touchdown drive just after halftime when he led off the drive with three runs for 43 total yards, then made it into the end zone despite a fourth-and-1 playcall that left him having to levitate the ball over the goal line with a sudden burst of power after he appeared to be stopped short. Trailing 32-29, Cook did not see the ball once on Buffalo’s final drive of the game, which feels like a pretty rough indictment of Joe Brady’s game plan. Cook actually carried the ball 30 fewer times than last year despite Buffalo going to a run-heavy approach, but it’s hard for his fantasy managers to complain after he turned in an NFL-high 16 rushing touchdowns despite working next to Josh Allen. Ray Davis likely will remain a thorn in Cook’s side in 2025, but he can climb the low-end RB1 ranks with this kind of workload as long as nobody says the words “touchdown regression” too loudly.

Cook looked spry against the Ravens but at 3.9 yards per carry, he was far and away the least efficient Bills rusher. It appeared as though Cook was in for a bigger day, touching the ball five times on the Bills’ opening drive, including three inside the Ravens’ red zone before being successfully spelled by Ray Davis, who scored from two yards out. Cook should have another high-volume day against the Chiefs in the AFC Championship next Sunday though.

Cook was not targeted in the passing game. Somewhat surprisingly, his 120 yards would have been his most of the regular season. It’s the third highest total of his career. Cook did not have a career day when the Bills visited Baltimore in Week 4, getting bottled up for 9/39. As you may have heard, the rematch takes place next weekend in Buffalo. Although the Ravens’ defense is most vulnerable through the air, it would be tough for the Bills to survive another Cook no-show.

The Bills didn’t want to rely on Cook too much in a game that meant nothing to their playoff seeding. However, they had some incentive to get him into the end zone since Cook now has 16 rushing touchdowns on the season, which ties him with O.J. Simpson for the most in a single season in franchise history. The increased success of the running game in the red zone has helped Josh Allen take his game to another level and helped cement Cook as a low-end RB1 in fantasy football. He’ll look to find the end zone again in the playoffs against either Denver, Miami, or Cincinnati.

The team wants to extend Allen’s consecutive starts streak. Overall, McDermott said he plans to use “a blend of regular starters and other players they want to get a look at.” That probably means that other Bills fantasy fixtures like James Cook and Khalil Shakir could also rest for Week 18.

The score helped salvage a surprisingly rough day on the ground for the Bills, who had just 2.9 yards per carry against a Jets defense that has been fairly gettable on the ground all season. Cook played 32 of 70 snaps and wasn’t involved at all in the fourth quarter with the Bills clinging to a mere 40-0 lead. It’s possible Cook gets managed in Week 18 if Sean McDermott wants to play things safe as Buffalo is locked into the No. 2 seed. If Cook does play, he’s got borderline RB1 upside against a beleaguered Patriots front.

Like all Bills’ skill position players, Cook handled a relatively light workload. He made the most of his though, forcing three total missed tackles while averaging 9.2 yards per carry, 5.1 yards after contact per carry and 2.78 yards per route run. He also fumbled once but his team recovered it. The Bills take on the Jets in Week 17, a team Cook has not yet faced this season. He was sidelined by a toe injury when the two teams faced each other in Week 6. He is an RB1 for championship week.

The Bills used a heavy three-man rotation at running back on Sunday, but James Cook was able to rip off chunk plays seemingly at will. His first touchdown was an easy walk-in rush from six yards out with the defense focusing on Josh Allen, but he exploded for a huge 41-yard run in the second half that helped give the Bills a commanding lead. The Bills will continue to rotate their running backs because they complement each other so well, but Cook is their clear primary ball carrier, and he continues to get carries inside the ten-yard-line, which is huge for his fantasy value. He’s a borderline RB1 next week in what should be a strong gamescript for him against the Patriots.

Cook simply got gamescripted out of this one. The Bills tried to establish the run early, but the Rams’ defensive line bottled up Cook, and then the Bills were down two scores in the blink of an eye. With Buffalo throwing the ball in the second half, there was a lot more Ty Johnson on the field, which led to the subpar effort from Cook. We wouldn’t read too much into the poor game; however, it is noteworthy that Johnson took so many snaps with the Bills playing from behind. That will sap some of Cook’s value if the Bills get into negative gamescripts again.

The highlight of Cook’s evening came on a 65-yard touchdown run down the right sideline in the second quarter, which paved the way for Ray Davis to notch 11 carries of his own. Cook needed only 14 carries to surpass 100 yards on the ground after his long touchdown run, something that fantasy managers have grown to understand of Cook in Buffalo in that he is never really counted on for massive volume but always carries game-breaking upside. Cook’s next chance to return a viable fantasy week comes against the Rams in Week 14.