The Buffalo Bills beat the Los Angeles Rams in overtime to end Week 5, but they escaped a close call that could have been avoided if their star running back had cared more about the football. James Cook III fumbled twice in the 37-34 win, and the second nearly ended the Bills’ game. His ball security issues have been an ongoing issue and one that seems to be wearing on coach Joe Brady, who has threatened to reduce Cook’s playing time if they continue.
The second of Cook’s fumbles Monday came on the opening possession of overtime. The Bills were in field goal range and threatened to start the extra period with a touchdown after a 57-yard completion from Josh Allen to Khalil Shakir. On the next play, Cook ran up the middle and lost the ball when Rams linebacker Nate Landman fumbled it and Aaron Donald fell to it.
All Los Angeles needed to win at that point was a field goal, but a blocked 48-yarder kept the Bills alive and led to their own game-winning field goal.
Cook’s fumble marked the second of two turnovers by Buffalo, while Allen had thrown an interception earlier.
“Right now, we’re putting the ball in a bad way,” Brady said Tuesday. “We know the way we lose football games is we turn the ball over. Our two best players turned the ball over last night. James put the ball on the ground. Look, he’s doing so many good things running the football. I don’t want to lose sight of how well he ran the ball today.
Cook has been impressive as a runner in 2026 with a terrific start to the season in which he averaged 106.4 yards per game in his first five outings. That continues a hot streak that began last season when he won the NFL rushing title with 1,621 yards and the season before when he led the league with 16 touchdowns.
The fumbles are a byproduct of his heavy workload, though. He’s up to four on the year, and he fumbled the ball six times a season ago. No non-quarterback has more fumbles in 2026, and only Cam Skattebo has matched his total at the running back position through five weeks.
2026 fumble leaders
6 knocking | Deshaun Watson, Justin Herbert |
5 knocking | Jordan Love, Malik Willis, Drake Maye, Bo Nix, Tyler Shough |
4 fumbles | Geno Smith, Jared Goff, Josh Allen, Daniel Jones, James Cook IIICam Tax House |
“I have all the confidence in him,” Brady said. “That’s why I put him back there. But at some point there has to be consequences when we’re putting negative things out there. The conversations that we’re having are ongoing. James knows. It’s important to him. But that’s not going to happen. It’s gonna cost us football games. It almost cost us one. But we can’t get confused because we got the game, or that’s better the game. get off.”
Any decrease in playing time for Cook will mean increased opportunities for one or both of Ty Johnson and Ray Davis. They have a combined five carries for 8 yards on the year and are more of a factor in the pass scheme with 12 catches for 166 yards.