Unlike most teams who are the No. 2 seed in their conference and firmly established as a Super Bowl contender, the Buffalo Bills didn't get to see many of their players dominate the Pro Bowl voting. Some of their most impressive names were left off the initial list and designated as alternates.
Despite running back James Cook showing that he is clearly one of the top three backs in the AFC, those who decide on who makes to the NFL Pro Bowl Games were apparently unconvinced by his show of dominance this year. He may end up missing out on the fun altogether.
Ravens running back Derrick Henry led the charge among backs in this circuit. That's reasonable. What is a bit more questionable is Houston's Joe Mixon and Indianapolis' Jonathan Taylor beating out Cook in the process. Are the voters even watching the Bills?
Cook only had jokes for the voters afterward, bemoaning the fact that his best season ever apparently wasn't good enough. His brother Dalvin Cook responded, saying the contract extension his play will earn him in the next few weeks will make up for it.
Bills RB James Cook can't believe he was snubbed from Pro Bowl
Taylor has Cook beat in rushing yards during this season, but it took him 72 more attempts to get those 200 yards. Mixon is the even more puzzling one. He has just 12 more rushing yards than Cook despite 43 more carries, and his receiving stats are almost identical. Cook has both of them beaten with 15 rushing touchdowns.
This season is a sharp reversal of what he put on tape in 2023. After mustering just two touchdowns on the ground last year, Cook has become one of the preeminent touchdown scorers in the game. Doing that while maintaining a 5.0 yards per carry average is elite any way you look at it.
Cook hasn't even carried the ball 200 times yet this season, and he also needs to deal with a quarterback in Josh Allen who carries the ball so much that Cook has missed out on even more big plays and scoring opportunities. Cook may be cursed by Allen, as casual fans may believe No. 17 is the entire reason the offense works.
Ideally, the Bills will end up making a run to the Super Bowl that will keep Cook from participating in these games. That would be one way to get back at those who kept him out.