The Bills beat their neighbors to the Southwest, the Cleveland Browns, 23-20 in an NFL Week 16 victory to improve to 11-4.
Buffalo’s ground game played as advertised, thanks in big part to RB1 James Cook, who did the heavy lifting in the win.
The Bills’ star RB1 went for 117 yards with two touchdowns, including breaking tackles for a 44-yard score
“It’s unbelievable,” QB Josh Allen said about that first scoring run. “I threw my hand up early, then I put it down, I was like, ‘oh, he’s tackled’, then I put it up again after he ran, I mean, he’s the best back in football. I don’t know how awards shake out, but I mean he should be in the running for l every award. He’s an absolute stud, we love having him, and he makes our offense go.”
Cook now leads the league with 1,532 rushing yards, the most by a Bill since 1975, and he also leads the NFL in yards before contact (498).
While the Bills’ receiving corps had a quiet day as pass catchers, head coach Sean McDermott was quick to praise them for their contributions to Cook’s success.
“Usually, when you have a run like that, the big one you’re talking about, you’ve got to have wide receivers blocking down the field,” McDermott said to the media. “Which is a good thing for us as well, something we pride ourselves in”.
Cleveland gave up 164 total rushing yards on the day, as well as another touchdown on the ground to Ty Johnson.
“We knew we were going to have to be able to run the football,” McDermott added. “If you drop back and throw it every play or too much against Myles, he’s going to win some of those, so we felt like we had to be able to run the football, be two-dimensional.”
Cook has been one of the top running backs in the NFL this season. He has the complete faith and confidence of his quarterback and earned a crucial win for him and his teammates.
“Anytime you can run the ball with James Cook, and with the success that we were having early, we’re going to continue to do that, and it’s going to open things up,” Allen told the media. “So try to keep trusting it.”
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills’ Josh Allen on James Cook 44-yard TD vs. Browns: ‘Unbelievable’
Reporting by David Benjamin De Cristofaro, Bills Wire / Bills Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
