Predicting James Cook's Week 3 stats vs. Jacksonville Jaguars

It has been a solid start for Buffalo Bills’ running back James Cook this season. Going back to the second half of last year, the Bills started making Cook one of the focuses on the offense and establishing the run. When Joe Brady took over the offense as the offensive coordinator, we started seeing more and more rushing attacks by the Buffalo offense that wasn’t centered by Josh Allen.

Through the first two games, Buffalo has shown that they will run the ball and Cook is the guy to do it. On the season, Cook has 30 carries for 149 yards and 2 touchdowns (tying a season high in his career). In Week 2 against the Miami Dolphins, Cook was the star of the show where he carried the ball 11 times for 78 yards and 2 touchdowns on the ground. He also was a threat in the receiving game with one catch for 17 yards that resulted in a touchdown.

His efforts last week earned him the AFC Offensive Player of the Week and he will look to continue his momentum heading into Week 3 against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

When the Bills took on the Jaguars last year in London, it was a very rough game for Cook. Even though the offense as a whole couldn’t get anything going, it doesn’t help when Cook only gets the ball 5 times on the ground and he finishes with -4 rushing yards. Luckily, he was able to get out of the negatives in total yards as he added on 3 catches for 25 yards. That type of performance cannot occur again in front of Bills Mafia on primetime.

Projecting James Cook's Week 3 stats

Cook has a favorable matchup against the Jaguars this week. They are giving up over 100 yards on the ground per game and have not forced a turnover just yet. However, the true x-factor in this game will be the Bills’ offensive line as they have to open up running lanes against players like Josh Hines-Allen and Arik Armstead.

If Cook can get to the second and third level, it is hard to imagine this Buffalo offense not being productive on the ground. Already coming off a fantastic performance against Miami, Cook will look to dominate yet another Florida team in Week 3.

Projection: 16 carries, 96 rushing yards, 1 touchdown, 4 catches, 35 yards