James Cook steals the show with electric first-half touchdown against the Carolina Panthers
The Buffalo Bills need to continue to let James Cook, cook.
James Cook is electric, proving to be one of the very best at his position across the entire NFL.
In just the first quarter against the Carolina Panthers, Cook had nine carries for 79 yards and kept that momentum going in the second frame. Buffalo signed Cook to a massive contract extension during the offseason, and it looks worth every penny.
Heading into the matchup, the Panthers’ run defense was third in DVOA, while the Bills are second in the NFL in run offense DVOA. DVOA stands for defense-adjusted value over average and is an advanced metric used to measure a team or player’s efficiency by comparing their performance on each play to the league average for that specific situation.
Cook stole the show with the play of the game in the first half, scampering his way to a 64-yard touchdown, which was the second-longest in his entire career. The second-quarter touchdown was much needed after having a few drives stall out in the Panthers’ red zone.
It wasn’t all good news coming out of the first half, though, as defensive tackle Ed Oliver has been ruled out of the contest with a bicep injury, a devastating blow for the Bills’ defense.
Let James Cook cook
The Bills’ offense is having its fair share of issues, with quarterback Josh Allen looking a little off, along with his receivers just not getting separation down the field. However, when Cook is on the field, the offense is cooking (no pun intended). He’s been elite since the first snap, with no signs of slowing down.
One of the biggest points of emphasis heading into the game against Carolina was to get Cook more involved. It was inexcusable for him to have limited touches in the second-half losses to both the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons.
Fortunately for the Bills Mafia, the team utilized Cook heavily in the opening half. In fact, since 1992, Cook has the most yards in a half in Bills’ history. Cook finished the half with 12 carries for 153 yards and a touchdown, averaging 12.8 yards per carry.
Cook’s first-half explosion was a statement. When Buffalo feeds its most dynamic playmaker, the results speak for themselves.
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