Joe Brady still believes in James Cook. TheBills head coach just wants the ball security to be better.
A day after Buffalo survived the Los Angeles Rams 37-34 in overtime, Brady made it clear that Cook could see his percentage share of carries go back down if the fumbles continue.
Cook put the ball on the ground twice Monday night and lost one. That gives him four fumbles in 2026 and 11 dating back to last season, postseason included, the most of any non-quarterback in that stretch.
James Cook with his second fumble on the night pic.twitter.com/uA4Tr5aqOI
— The Goal Line Grind (@theGLgrind) October 13, 2026
Over the same span of time, Cook leads the NFL in rushing by 245 yards.
His elite backfield counterpart's ups and downs as it relates to the tension between top of the league position play and costly
ball protection issues being dubbed the "Josh Allen Experience". Coaches and fans in Buffalo are now getting a double dose of that reward versus risk in a pattern in danger of becoming the "James Cook Experience".
A conversation needs to be had.
Cook has been on nothing short of an elite rise over the past couple of seasons, netting him a lucrative new contract and commitment in the Bills' salary cap situation. He's played up to that commitment in terms of his productivity, but has also steadily had ball protection issues during that time as well.
His head coach remains confident in him while emphasizing how the protection issues are undermining his contributions and jeopardizing things for the team.
"I don't want to lose sight of how great he is running the ball right now. But putting the ball on the ground, it's negating all the positive," Joe Brady said Tuesday. "It's going to cost us football games. It almost cost us one."
His percentage of carries jumped up this season as he's taken on a workhorse role in a running backs rotation that has two other skill players waiting in the wings to take on more shares of that work load, Ty Johnson and Ray Davis.
What's more, the two are catching passes and making yards after catch plays that are impactful to the passing game, an area Cook was drafted to contribute to as a hybrid dual threat back but has not been a big factor in.
Scaling and distributing the workload would be more in step with Brady's "Everyone Eats" offensive approach, and has been a recipe for success with the running backs group in the past.
One thing was made clear, and that is that ball protection will be the determinant of whether the amount of carries Cook gets continues at a high clip or not.
"It's got to improve or the carries are going to decrease," Brady stated.
The overtime fumble nearly gave away the game. Buffalo was driving near the red zone thanks to an explosive 50+ yard play by Khalil Shakir with the first possession of the extra period when Cook coughed it up, handing Los Angeles a chance to win with any score.
Greg Rousseau bailed the Bills out by blocking Harrison Mevis' field-goal try. Brady went right back to Cook on the next snap, and the back carried twice for 3 yards on the winning drive.
When it mattered most, however, Brady thought better of handing the ball off to him given the risk. Facing second-and-10 at the Rams' 27 after the two-minute warning, Buffalo sent Tyler Bass out to go for the win instead of running the clock. And Bass delivered.
"We had some conversation on the sideline about, hey, what should we do?" he said postgame. "Do we take two knees right there and go back and at least they don't have a chance at a rebuttal? … Do you run two kind of QB sneaks and just know you're not losing yards, but there's a lot of risk - bangs on the head or punching at the ball?"
His message to the press regarding Cook was simple.
"James understands when you hold the football, you're holding the whole entire organization in his hands," Brady shared knowingly noting Cook was well aware of the importance of the matter.
He also made it clear he does not want to see any fear in Cook's game.
“I don’t want James running any more timid," Brady clarified. "He’s playing outstanding in terms of how he is running the football right now.. Idk if anyone is running the ball better than him in the NFL.”
Buffalo's RB1 remains a fan favorite and a key engine of Buffalo's offensive attack and ground game. The team's Super Bowl hopes hang in part on him and his abilities, as well as his protecting the football.
A man of action more than words, he did speak to WGRZ Tuesday as well.
"Just got to hold onto it. Work on it each and every day," the RB1 said. He also noted "I can't be down on myself, we got the victory. I mean, it's called a team sport, just keep chopping and just keep fixing on it, and move on."
For his part, Cook is approaching the situation with the right attitude.
"Just gotta take care of it," he added. "Just gotta take more care of the ball, and hold myself accountable, and just never stay out of the game. Team needs me. Never get down on yourself, it's life, it's football, things happen so you just keep moving on and, like i said, I'll get to the next week and get another W."
The Bills star also posted to his instagram stories a positive message to fans that he is owning the moment and putting the importance on how he responds.
This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Bills' Joe Brady issues warning to James Cook, fumbles
