James Cook stats: How the Bills' rushing explosion under Joe Brady has saved season

The Bills have hit some bumps in the road during the 2023 season but the bright spots Buffalo has had have made all the difference in keeping the team in the mix for a playoff spot.

Among those is standout running back James Cook, who could be argued to have played to most integral role in that as the Bills are currently on a two-game winning streak after losing three of their past four games before that.

Here's a by-the-numbers look into the role Cook has played in saving the season under Joe Brady, who took over play-calling duties after the Bills fired offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey on Nov. 14:

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James Cook stats 2023

Setting Cook free and feeding him the ball has made a significant difference within the offense, propelling the unit to new levels after the adjustment made by Brady.

And looking back at it, the decision to make Brady the interim offensive coordinator has been a huge step in the right direction that was key to setting off the "Cook effect" with what he brings to the table in his creative, "fun" style of play-calling that brought new energy and life to the offense.

The Bills' ground game has seen improvement with his willingness to lean into it and that shows both on the stat line for Cook and in the overall product delivered on the field.

Cook was the team's biggest star offensively on Sunday as he finished out the dominant, 31-10 blowout victory over the Cowboys with 221 all-purpose yards. That's more than the Cowboys' entire offense put together as the team, led by quarterback Dak Prescott, totaled 195 yards of offense by the end of the game.

MORE: Inside the numbers on James Cook's massive game vs. Cowboys

Cook earned AFC Offensive Player of The Week honors as he turned heads. His versatility has and will continue to be key as the Bills hope for a successful postseason run.

Cook averaged an impressive 7.2 yards per carry and set a new personal best with a total of 179 rushing yards. Those 221 yards are also good for the most all-purpose yards by a Buffalo player since Fred Jackson (227) back in 2009.

Of the Bills' 65 plays in the win over the Cowboys, 49 were rushing attempts — something Brady mentioned actually wasn't originally supposed to be the gameplan. But if there's one thing that is clear, it's that it worked out perfectly to the Bills' advantage.

"I'm probably a broken record when I say this, but there's a way to win every game," Brady said after the game. "We think we have an idea going into the game about how we think this is how they might play it or this is how we think our guys are going to respond to something... I don't think anybody envisioned being able to have that much success... It wasn't broken, so why try and fix it?" 

Here's how Cook's performance breaks down game-by-game. Brady replaced Dorsey as the play-caller ahead of Week 11, and four of Cook's six total touchdowns this season have come in the four games since that switch. 

James Cook career stats

Here's a look into how Cook has performed by the year statistically, still obviously very early on in his career and without the 2023 season yet fully in the books.