James Cook helped make sure the Bills’ new stadium opener ended the way Buffalo wanted.
On Thursday night, in the first game at the Bills’ new stadium, Cook delivered the kind of performance that can quiet any nervous energy in a hurry. He ran for 135 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, powering the Bills to a 41-31 win over the Detroit Lions.
His score came at the right time, too. With the Lions still hanging around late, Cook’s touchdown helped put the game out of reach and seal the night for Buffalo.
Josh Allen, though, had plenty of say in the final tally. The Bills quarterback found the end zone five times, with three touchdown passes and two rushing scores.
Those two runs covered just three yards total - one from a yard out and another from two yards out - and both could have gone to Cook instead. Allen kept the ball and finished the job himself.
That’s part of the deal with Allen. He’s a dual-threat quarterback, and it’s no surprise when he takes matters into his own hands near the goal line.
Still, Cook would probably love a few more of those chances, especially when the ball is sitting that close to the stripe. The Bills, for their part, leaned into Allen, likely with an eye on helping him make another push for the MVP Award this season.
Even so, Cook hardly had a night to complain about. He already has 192 rushing yards through two games, putting him on pace for 1,632 this season. That would track right alongside the 1,621 yards he piled up last year, when he led the NFL in rushing.
That 2025 season made Cook just the third Georgia running back to win the NFL rushing title. Now he’s in position to do something even rarer: become just the fifth player in league history to lead the NFL in rushing in back-to-back seasons, and the first to do it since Derrick Henry in 2019 and 2020.
The season is still young, but Cook has already looked like one of the league’s top backs again. Whether he finishes with another rushing crown remains to be seen. What’s clear right now is that he and the Bills are rolling together.
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With Week 3 of the 2026 college football season on deck, the SECs quarterback conversation is already starting to take shape, and Georgia has reason to pay close attention. Matchups like Ole Miss-LSU and Florida-Auburn will help sort out the leagues early order, but the bigger backdrop for Bulldogs fans is the kind of quarterback depth the conference is again producing, with several names already being discussed as future first-round NFL Draft picks.
For Georgia, Kamario Taylor has become part of a much bigger Heisman debate than just one early-season hot start. The question now is what he has to do to keep building on that opening stretch and stay in the award race as the schedule gets tougher and the spotlight gets brighter. In a league full of talented quarterbacks, every week can reshape the conversation, and Taylors path will be measured against both the SEC gauntlet and the standard set by the sports other elite passers. [Read more 🡒]
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Thomas Blackshear, meanwhile, was not listed on the report and is expected to be available despite dealing with a recent wrist injury. Greens ankle injury reportedly did not involve structural damage, while Linton remains week to week with a lower-leg injury, leaving Georgia to manage its backfield and secondary depth with the SEC grind just getting started. [Read more 🡒]
SEC Injury Reports Are Fueling A Debate Georgia Fans Will Notice
The SECs new injury-report routine has already given fans plenty to watch, and LSUs latest update is only adding to the conversation. The conference listed quarterback Sam Leavitt as doubtful for the upcoming game against Ole Miss, a designation that immediately drew attention given how closely supporters now monitor every weekly report for clues about availability and game planning.
Georgias own report for the Arkansas game was more straightforward, with three players ruled out, including linebacker Chase Linton. Even so, the broader debate around how much trust these listings deserve has only grown louder, especially with fans keeping one eye on past game-week twists and the other on what the reports might really be telling them. [Read more 🡒]