Buffalo Rumblings
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook has been named AFC Offensive Player of the Month for his efforts during during the first four games of the 2025 NFL season. Cook’s September performance includes 100 scrimmage yards in the first four games of the season along with at least one score in each of those games. That’s a feat that has only been done six time in the Super Bowl era.
Cook has amassed 401 yards on the ground and is averaging 5.35 yards per carry. In addition to his 75 carries, the fourth-year running back has another 12 touches in the form of pass catches that account for another 89 yards. Cook leads the NFL in touchdowns with five, a pace that if it continues would give him a 17-score season and let him own the top line in the Bills’ record books – something he currently shares with Hall of Famer running back O.J. Simpson.
Cook is only the second Buffalo Bills running back to earn AFC Offensive Player of the Month honors. The other was NFL Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas who won the honor in November 1991 on his way to an NFL MVP title at the end of the year. That year, the Bills also won the AFC Championship and went to their second Super Bowl.
Cook spent the offseason campaigning publicly for a new contract. His campaign included a sit-in during training camp. It looked like the Bills were going to start the season without a new deal in place, and it was assumed Cook would end his inactivity and get ready to play. But then on August 13, general manager Brandon Beane announced that a new contract extension had indeed been signed. Cook’s extension is for four years, making him a Bill through the 2029 season, and worth $48 million, $30 million of which is guaranteed.
With his fast start to the season, and now the AFC Offensive Player of the Month title, it appears that the Bills may have landed a bargain. Waiting until the end of the 2025 season could have cost them.
