Former UGA star James Cook scores 3 TDs in Bills’ comeback win over Patriots
James Cook played an integral role in Georgia’s championship football drive, and now he’s doing the same thing for the Buffalo Bills.
It was Cook who jump-started UGA’s 33-18 College Football Playoff championship game win over Alabama in 2022 with a 67-yard run.
Now in the NFL, Cook is showing the same championship form in marquee games.
Cook scored two of this three touchdowns Sunday in the second half of Buffalo’s come-from-behind, 35-31 win at New England.
The victory keeps the Bills (10-4) in contention to win the AFC East, now just a game behind the Patriots (11-3) after beating them in Foxborough, Massachusetts.
This, in a season that will see Kansas City miss the NFL playoffs for the first time since 2014 after they dropped a 16-13 decision at home to the Los Angeles Chargers.
The Chiefs’ elimination is quite noteworthy for Cook and his Buffalo teammates: Kansas City has eliminated the Bills from the NFL Playoffs four of the past five seasons:
- 2024 AFC championship game: 32-29, in Kansas City, Missouri
- 2023 AFC Divisional Round: 27-24, in Buffalo, New York
- 2021 AFC Divisional Round: 42-36, in Kansas City
- 2020 AFC championship game: 38-24, in Kansas City
Buffalo took a step toward making the playoffs this season with Sunday’s pivotal home win, and Cook continued his push for the NFL rushing crown.
Cook entered the game with 1,308 yards rushing — just 48 yards behind Indianapolis’ Jonathan Taylor (1,356). The Colts played Seattle in a late-afteroon game Sunday.
Nick Chubb is the most recent former Georgia tailback to lead the NFL in rushing (1,525 yards in 2022), while playing with the Cleveland Browns.
New England, which features former Georgia team captain Jared Wilson as a starting offensive guard, charged out to a 21-0 lead on Buffalo in the second quarter Sunday.
Cook sparked the comeback with his 5-yard touchdown catch from Josh Allen (19-of-28, 193 yards, three TDs) with 1:56 left in the second quarter that made it 21-7.
Cook, who finished with 22 carries for 107 yards — his eighth 100-yard rushing performance of the season — helped the Bills get the ground game going in the second half with his two rushing touchdowns.
Cook’s first rushing touchdown of the game Sunday came with 3:49 left in the third quarter when he stretched across the goal line on a 3-yard run to cut the New England lead to 24-21.
Allen put the ball in Cook’s hands three times on what proved to be the game-winning drive, and the former Bulldogs tailback delivered with first-down runs of 6 yards, 9 yards, and finally, his 11-yard burst up the middle for what proved to be the final score of the game.
Buffalo plays at Cleveland next Sunday before finishing the regular-season slate with home games against Philadelphia and the New York Jets.
About the Author
Mike is in his 10th season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 25 years of CFB experience. Mike is a Heisman Trophy voter and former Football Writers President who was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
