Last night’s thrilling game between the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens will go down as one of the best endings in NFL history. While the Ravens should have won this game without looking back, crucial late mistakes by them allowed the Bills to capitalize and pull off a stunning comeback in primetime, winning 41-40.
While Josh Allen was clearly the most valuable player and is the main reason why Buffalo managed to make a comeback, we have to give a lot of credit to running back James Cook who showed us why he deserved to get paid this past offseason.
James Cook proves he was worth getting his contract extension in Week 1
From the time last season ended up until Cook got his four-year extension, it was nothing but contract drama between the Bills and Cook. However, fans should be glad that Cook is locked in for the Bills for the long-term future now after his performance against the Ravens.
Cook had 13 carries for 44 yards and a third quarter rushing touchdown. It’s not the most impressive stats on the ground, but Cook shined as a receiving back which is where he showed us he deserves his money. Cook had 5 catches for 58 yards including an early 4th quarter 51-yard reception that helped keep the Bills in the game late.
Without that huge play by Cook, which was a bit of a dump off pass on third down, the Bills may not be celebrating today. Despite the Ravens having one of the better defensive units in the league, Cook did exactly what he needed to do at the right time to help the Bills win this game.
Now granted, Cook will have to improve as the season goes but we have to remember, the Bills were trailing for most of the game so they didn’t have the chance to hand the ball off as much as they could have if they didn’t fall behind early.