CLEVELAND — The Buffalo Bills have the reigning MVP. And amidst a four-game winning streak, quarterback Josh Allen is once again in the hunt.
Draft Kings has Allen at plus 2,500 odds to win the MVP, third behind Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (minus 215) and Patriots quarterback Drake Maye (plus 180). Bills running back James Cook isn’t even in the top 20.
But there’s an argument to be made that Cook has been Buffalo’s best player this season. He’s been unquestionably the team’s most consistent player throughout the season and he showed it again in a 23-20 win over the Cleveland Browns.
Cook ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns on 16 attempts, becoming the first Bills player since O.J. Simpson in 1976 to surpass 1,500 yards in a season. He needs to average just 90 — 31 under his average — over the final two games to be the first Bills player to reach 2,000 scrimmage yards since Thurman Thomas in 1992.
He also notched his ninth 100-yard rushing performance of the season, two shy of Simpson for the franchise record. And Cook left Huntington Bank Field 89 yards ahead of Colts star Jonathan Taylor — who played Monday — for the NFL rushing lead, something that hasn’t been done by a Bills player since Simpson, again, in 1976.
“He’s the best back in football,” Allen said. “I don’t know how awards will shake out, but he should be in the running for every award. He’s an absolute stud. … He makes our offense go.”
It’s hard to argue Allen’s point. The Bills are 8-1 when Cook surpasses 100 yards rushing this season and they are 11-1 when he has at least 100 scrimmage yards.
“It’s a blessing that I get to go out there and perform and be at my best,” Cook said. “It ain’t over yet, so we just got to keep going. Hopefully we’re with it.”
Cook’s elite vision showed on his 44-yard touchdown run against the Browns. But part of Cook’s success has been the way offensive coordinator Joe Brady has constructed the offense, trending in this direction over the past two seasons.
Despite having an MVP quarterback, perhaps the best in the league, the Bills have ranked in the bottom 10 of the league in passing attempts, with Allen having more games under 200 yards (14) than over 300 (8). Their entire game plan against the Browns was based on preventing Browns defensive end Myles Garrett from getting the sack he needed to tie the NFL single-season record.
Allen was under center for 33 of Buffalo’s 48 offensive snaps, excluding kneel-downs. That included 11 of his 23 drop-backs. Perhaps in part because left tackle Dion Dawkins missed two practices and lost 14 pounds due to the flu during the lead-up to the game.
Not only did the Bills offer Dawkins help with left guard David Edwards, but they also used a bunch on Garrett’s side, either with two receivers or two tight ends.
“Usually they leave Dion on an island and just let him do his thing,” Garrett said. ”He has a unique set, unique variety, but the guard was coming down quickly, and then they were throwing the bunch on my side tight so that I had to line up inside, and they passed the ball. I really didn’t have an angle to get to an edge. So, they threw a bit of peculiarities at me to try to keep me and kind of contain me where they wanted.”
It made sense to run Cook early and they were successful. Having Allen under center made sense because he’s thrown 19 touchdowns, has a 109.6 quarterback rating and has been sacked just six times over the last three seasons on throws under center.
But it became very clear as the game progressed that the Bills were terrified of Garrett and him getting the record. Aside from his nonsensical 23-yard sack at the end of the half that moved Garrett ½-sack from the record, the ball left Allen’s hand quickly any time he took a shotgun snap.
There were few attempts to push the ball downfield, and when there were, Allen and his receivers weren’t on the same page. The Bills had a similar game plan against the Pittsburgh Steelers, but they were missing both starting tackles.
Buffalo’s offensive line was completely intact. Cleveland was missing star cornerback Denzel Ward. Instead, the Bills treated Garrett as unblockable despite having a four-time Pro Bowl left tackle in Dawkins.
“I saw (Allen’s) eyes get big when he saw me,” Garrett said of his sack. “So I knew he recognized who it was. So he started to hightail the other way.”
In three games with the Bills, receiver Brandin Cooks has more drops (2) than receptions (1). Both drops were drive killers, one against the New England Patriots and another against the Browns.
But when receivers aren’t targeted until the fourth quarter, spending most of the game shuttled in and out of the lineup, it’s not reasonable to think they are going to snag everything thrown in their direction just because the offensive coordinator decided it’s their turn.
“We feel like we are in playoff-mode now,” Allen said. “It’s just find a way to win a football game. Obviously it wasn’t the prettiest way we can win. We have some stuff to clean up, but we’ll take a victory.”
It’s fine to say that, but it’s not a switch to be flipped on and off. After Cook’s superb first half, the Browns held him to 17 yards on seven carries in the second half and the Bills couldn’t throw their way out of the funk, with Allen going 6 of 12 for 44 yards after halftime.
Over the last four games, Bills wide receivers have been targeted 38 times for 239 yards on 24 receptions. Twelve of those catches for 120 yards belong to Khalil Shakir alone.
Bills receivers are logging less 40% of the team’s targets, catches and yards over the last four games. Two years ago, wide receivers were accounting for over 50% in each category.
“We haven’t had, probably, the production we’d all want,” Bills coach Sean McDermott said. “I’m sure those guys would say the same. … That is a group of hard-working guys. … You hold the ball too long against that defensive line and Myles Garrett and you’re going to feel it. So I thought Joe and the offensive staff did a great job with the game plan.”
Some of it comes from not having a set receiver rotation through 15 games and they probably still aren’t finished mixing and matching. Keon Coleman was a healthy scratch for the third time this season, but the first because of performance.
Coleman missed two games for disciplinary reasons, but didn’t have a target against the New England Patriots. But Gabriel Davis wasn’t his replacement, that roster spot went to the returning Mecole Hardman Jr., who returned two punts and didn’t play an offensive snap.
Before missing Sunday’s game Coleman was second to Shakir in snaps played among receivers. He’s become a strong blocker in the run game, but after his eight-catch, 112-yard season opener, Coleman hasn’t hit 50 yards in a game.
It’s hard to envision the Bills moving on from Coleman immediately, but he doesn’t seem to be a player who factors into the team’s long-term plans. And it’s coming after a 556-yard rookie season, a strong training camp and being a 2024 second-round pick.
“We had a different five the last couple weeks and we might have a different five this week,” Brady said. “But we’re going to go in each week and decide who we feel is the best five for the makeup of the football team, not necessarily just our offense. … They’ve learned that they have to be ready to rock … when their opportunity comes because all of those opportunities are going to come up again.”
NOTES: QB Josh Allen (foot), DT DaQuan Jones (calf), S Jordan Poyer (hamstring) and LB Shaq Thompson (neck) are day to day. … Allen’s foot injury may impact practice this week, but McDermott doesn’t expect him to miss Sunday’s game vs. the Eagles. … The Chiefs signed practice squad quarterback Shane Buechele off the practice squad.