Since the end of the 2024 NFL season,, there has been plenty of focus on Buffalo Bills star running back James Cook III. The offseason was filled with plenty of conversations around a contract extension,
hypothetical trades, training-camp holdouts, and the value of the running back position as a whole. Thankfully since Cook signed his contract extension in August, the conversation has shifted towards his play on the field.
With just three games left in the 2025 regular season, Cook remains one of the top rushers in the NFL with 1,415 yards on 271 carries. Cook now finds himself nearly neck-and-neck with running back Jonathan Taylor from the Indianapolis Colts, the latter of whom currently leads the NFL with 1,443 rushing yards. The next closest competitor is running back Devon Achane of the Miami Dolphins, who is 229 yards short of Cook with 1,186 yards.
It will certainly take a productive finish to catch Taylor, but Bills Mafia can enjoy the fact that Cook has cemented himself as one of the league’s star running backs. If Cook does finish the season as the NFL’s top rusher, it would be the first time a Buffalo Bills running back captured the title since NFL Hall of Fame running back O.J. Simpson ran for 1,503 yards in 1976. Simpson won the rushing title four times during his time with the Bills, while Cookie Gilchrist is the only other running back to capture a rushing title for the franchise (twice).
While there is still plenty of football left this season, fans can add Cook’s pursuit of the rushing title to a growing list of storylines for the Bills heading into this year’s playoffs.
