Buffalo Bills running back James Cook is having a career-best season and has a strong chance to win the league’s rushing title this season, but a sudden difficulty with ball security has raised some concerns in Buffalo.
Cook had been safe with the ball through much of the season, fumbling only two times leading up to the team’s win over the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 13. But he fumbled twice in that game and two more times in Sunday’s win over the Cincinnati Bengals, an uncharacteristic difficulty that is now causing concern.
James Cook Has Two Costly Fumbles
Cook nearly had a game-changing error on Sunday, losing the ball at the goal line as the team was driving in the third quarter. Though the Bills were able to overcome a 10-point deficit in the fourth quarter to win 39-34, Cook’s struggles with ball security left an impression.
As SI.com’s Owen Klein noted, Cook will need to turn around the struggles fast during the critical final stretch of the season.
“Buffalo wound up winning 39-34 thanks to Josh Allen’s heroics and splash plays from the defense, but Cook, who ran for 80 yards on 18 carries against the Bengals, needs to stop fumbling if the Bills are to be a more complete team in December,” Klein wrote.
Bills quarterback Josh Allen shared the blame for Cook’s lost fumble, saying he could have been better in delivering the handoff.
âNo, he understands,â Allen said, via the Democrat & Chronicle. âI could have helped him out and not pumped the dart and just given it to him right away. So I can take some blame in that.â
Cook had fumbled earlier on that same drive, losing the ball out of bounds on a play that was wiped out due to a holding penalty on the Bills. The Bengals challenged the play to question whether Cook may have fumbled through the endzone, resulting in a touchback, but officials upheld the original call.
Cook now has five fumbles this season, the highest among all non-quarterbacks.
James Cook Still Plays Key Role
The Bills made a big commitment to Cook’s future this offseason, signing him to a four-year contract extension worth $48 million.
The investment has paid off. Cook leads the NFL with 249 rushing attempts this season and has a career-best 1,308 rushing yards, putting him less than 50 yards behind Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor for the most in the NFL. Cook has added 29 receptions for 267 yards and one receiving touchdown.
Cook has unlocked a powerful counterpart to Josh Allen’s passing attack, often picking up the slack when the team’s receivers have struggled. The Bills are 6-1 in games this season where Cook has more than 100 rushing yards.
Cook had 138 yards from scrimmage in Sunday’s win, which gave a big boost to Buffalo’s playoff hopes. They moved to a 98% chance of reaching the postseason according to The Athletic’s playoff predictor, also keeping their hopes of catching the New England Patriots alive. The Bills face the Patriots next week and would need a win to have a chance of winning their sixth straight AFC East title.
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