James Cook has most rushing yards by Bills player in 50 years

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook is having a tremendous season. In Week 16, his 16 carries for 117 yards and two touchdowns helped his team beat the Cleveland Browns 23-20 and get to the precipice of a playoff berth. This is just the latest massive game for Cook, who is having the best season by a  Bills RB since OJ Simpson.

“James Cook leads the NFL with 1,532 rushing yards and has now marked the most by a Bill since 1975,” Bills PR reported on X after the win over the Browns.

Between Simpson’s 1975 campaign, which saw him rush for 1,817 yards, and 2025, the Bills have had some excellent running backs, including Thurman Thomas, Travis Henry, and LeSean McCoy. However, their career highs with the Bills were 1,487, 1,438, and 1,267 rushing yards, respectively.

With two games to go, Cook has an outside chance of besting that 1,817 mark by Simpson, but it won’t be easy. He’ll need to average 143 yards per game to do so. And there is almost no chance Cook will produce the greatest rushing season in Bills history. That number is 2,003 yards by Simpson in 1973.

Cook’s rushing yards not only put him in the upper echelon of Bills history, but also at the top of the NFL currently. Indianapolis Colts running back Jonathan Taylor is second with 1,443. However, Taylor is yet to play in Week 16. He plays the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.

The 2025 rushing title should come down to the wire between Cook and Taylor. The Bills have the Philadelphia Eagles and New York Jets in Weeks 17 and 18, while the Colts will take on the Jacksonville Jaguars and Houston Texans.

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