When the Buffalo Bills offense needed a play Thursday night, Josh Allen turned to James Cook in the 31-21 win over the Miami Dolphins.
The slashing runner galloped through the Dolphins defense to the tune of 108 yards on 19 carries (5.7 YPC) and scored a third-quarter touchdown. On a night when Buffalo’s offense went through fits and starts, Cook was the stabilizing force.
“The guy just attacks every time he touches the ball,” Allen said of Cook, via the Buffalo News. “He looks like he’s been shot out of a cannon every time he touches it. He’s so fun to play with. Wants the ball, ultimate competitor.”
Thursday marked the seventh consecutive game in which Cook scored a rushing touchdown, tying him for the club record with Cookie Gilchrist (1962), O.J. Simpson (1975), and Robb Riddick (1988).
Cook can break off chunk runs and grind out tough yards inside. His knack for slipping tackles keeps Buffalo in favorable down-and-distance. Per Next Gen Stats, of his 108 rushing yards, 96 came after contact, the third-most in a game by Cook in his career. Entering the Week 3 Sunday slate, Cook has gained 232 rushing yards after contact, the most in the NFL.
Allen and the passing attack lived in a restricted ocean against the Dolphins. The QB attempted just one pass over 10 air yards -- an incompletion to Dalton Kincaid. It was Cook who provided the chunk gains. The running back recorded four runs of 10+ yards, tied for the second-most in a game in his career.
The Bills inked Cook to a contract extension this offseason for nights like Thursday, when he proved he can help keep the offensive engine running if the passing attack is minimized.