2 — The numbers behind James Cook’s historic game
Bills running back James Cook III was a one-man wrecking machine every time he touched the ball Sunday, toting the rock 19 times for a career-high 216 yards and two rushing touchdowns. The total yardage in itself is a staggering feat, but a deeper dive into how Cook got there is worth highlighting.
10 of Cook’s 19 runs resulted in either a first down or a touchdown, including a 64-yard TD run in the first half that was one yard shy of tying his career-high for a single rush. In the two prior games, Cook had eight first down rushes on 32 attempts.
Cook is just the third player since 2011 to rush for 200+ yards and two touchdowns on less than 20 rush attempts, joining De’Von Achane (2023) and Derrick Henry (2018). With Sunday’s dominant win, the Bills improved to 9-1 since 2022 when Cook rushes for over 100 yards.
“He’s playing outstanding. The more times we get the ball in his hands, the better that we’re going to be,” Josh Allen said.
Cook gashed the Panthers outside the numbers through a variation of pitches, cutbacks and zone runs. According to Next Gen Stats, Cook gained 189 of his rushing yards outside the tackles and 141 before contact.