Josh Allen did not need to say anything to James Cook about his fumble on Monday night against the Rams.
The Billsquarterback has plenty of experience in his career with protecting the football, as well as with fighting back afterwards. The former NFL MVP stood behind his running back after an overtime turnover nearly handed the Los Angeles Rams the game.
Buffalo would end up getting another chance and securing a 37-34 victory, but Cook's mistake made it initially seem unlikely. And Allen knows he doesn't need to remind Cook about the close call.
"We don't gotta say nothing to him," Allen said when asked about his message to his RB1.
The fumble could have spoiled an otherwise productive night for the running back, who finished with 111 rushing yards
and two touchdowns, helping keep the offense moving while Buffalo struggled to get its passing game going.
Then came the turnover.
Khalil Shakir had just taken a short reception deep into Rams territory to open overtime to put the Bills into scoring position. Cook received the next handoff, lost the ball and left Buffalo needing a defensive stop instead of preparing to score.
Cook now has four total fumbles and two total turnovers through the first five games of this season after fumbling six times last season, which led all running backs.
"Like obviously you don't want to fumble," head coach Joe Brady saidduring his postgame presser. "Like that can't happen, but we just keep playing man and make them earn everything."
Greg Rousseau came through to the rescue this time, getting through to block Harrison Mevis' field-goal attempt. Tyler Bass later delivered the winning kick.
The ball protection issues do raise a valid question as to whether backups Ray Davis and Ty Johnson should receive more of his workload until he can workout whatever is causing the protection issues this season. Davis, in particular, is hungry for more and wanting the ball. Davis and Johnson also can catch passes, an area where Buffalo drafted Cook to contribute though much of his work is done from the backfield.
The RB1 was not sidelined, however, on Buffalo's final possession, either. Instead, head coach Joe Brady went back to the ground game with Cook and Allen to get Bass into position.
That matters as much as the postgame reassurance. Cook remained part of the plan with the outcome still undecided. Ultimately, the Bills got the win, though Allen and Cook's turnovers and the defense's inability to stop offenses could come back to bite them as it did last week in their loss against the New England Patriots.
Cook did score two rushing touchdowns in the Monday Night Football win to improve to 40+ rushing touchdowns in his NFL career including the playoffs, joining Allen, franchise legend Thurman Thomas, and the late O.J. Simpson as the only franchise players to do so. He's emerged as one of the league's top backs in recent seasons.
Allen's support keeps morale where it needs to be while not making ball security any less important. For a team trying to turn its Super Bowl window into a championship, relying on a blocked kick to survive a turnover and surrendering 34 points is not a solution Brady can always count on.
Buffalo overcame it Monday, showing they can win in big moments. The next step is scaling Cook's production and workload so it comes without more of his unusual early streak of possession-changing mistakes, while the team works to fix it's defensive woes on the final scoreboard.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills' Josh Allen on James Cook turnovers vs. Rams: 'Don't gotta say nothing'
