Story by
Jaguars defense prepares for James Cook, who's in elite group of RBs
- Story by
- Jaguars defense prepares for James Cook, who's in elite group of RBs
Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen has plenty of respect for Buffalo Bills running back James Cook .
Cook has been a frontline player for the Bills over the past three years after he took over as the team's primary ball carrier.
Advertisement
In his career, Cook has run for 4,259 yards and 32 touchdowns. He's averaged 5.1 yards per carry and has not averaged fewer than 4.7 yards per carry in any year he's played since being drafted by the Bills in the second round of the 2022 NFL Draft from Georgia.
O'HALLORAN: Jaguars DBs led a players-only meetings that's still paying dividends
This season, the Pro Bowl back has rushed for the most yards in the NFL (1621 yards) with the best yards-per-game average (95.4). He's also stood out as a receiver, catching 130 passes for 1,174 yards and nine receiving touchdowns.
"[He's] elusive, slippery, smooth. He just has a great feel for mid-zone, for the zone [running] game, and the press combinations. He just has such a great feel," Coen said Wednesday morning ahead of the team's game against the Bills.
Advertisement
Coen brought up Cook's run against the Cleveland Browns earlier this season. Cook had a 44-yard run where he made two players miss in the hole beyond the line of scrimmage, and multiple other players missed throughout the play.
Bills running back James Cook ran for a total of 39 yards in his game against the Jaguars at Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park on Sept. 23, 2024.
"I mean, it was ridiculous. They had two guys unblocked in the hole, and he just makes them both miss, and he's off to the races," Coen exclaimed.
The play epitomized what Cook has shown to be able to do on a routine basis. The Bills have the best rushing offense in the league at 159.6 yards per game. They have also run 32.2 times per game.
It's their bread and butter, and the Jaguars will be tasked with taking it on this week with the league's No. 1 run defense. Coen wasn't short with his compliments about Cook, either.
Advertisement
"He's one of those guys that fits in the same mold as your Bijans [Falcons RB Bijan Robinson ], your McCaffreys [ 49ers RB Christian McCaffrey ], those kinds of guys," Coen said. "You've got to be on the screws with the matchup in the pass game and we've got to be at our best clamp tackling this week."
Jaguars will handle playoff week vs. Bills the same as always
The Jaguars pulled their ideal game time at home this week when they got Sunday (Jan. 11) at 1 p.m., a time slot they had 11 of 17 times this season. Four games scheduled for 4 p.m. or later were on the West Coast, while another game began in the morning in the U.S. because it was played in London.
This week, the team is making sure everything goes as usual. They get to maintain the schedule they've played with the majority of the season. Even with the stakes rising in a playoff week, Coen doesn't seem to be altering anything.
Advertisement
"Same as, man, same as. That's what we talked about this morning, was 1-0 again this week. That's especially, we're in the dance now, we're in the tournament, so we've got to go 1-0 each week, but taking it week in, week out," Coen said.
Nov 16, 2025; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars head coach Liam Coen reacts to a touchdown against the Los Angeles Chargers during the third quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images
The Jaguars had to do that through the final eight games of the season, winning out to control their own destiny and capture the AFC South title. They've risen to the occasion, so there's no need to make changes now.
"I think that our players have done a nice job of rising to the level of competition and playing well in important games," said Coen.
Advertisement
"And the no flinch, no blink mentality, the mindset to, hey, we've got to go take care of ourselves, go play our best football, put our best foot forward and go compete our asses off and see what happens."
Demetrius Harvey is the Jacksonville Jaguars reporter for the Florida Times-Union. You can follow him on X (formerly Twitter) at @Demetrius82 or on Bluesky at Demetrius .
If you're a subscriber, thank you. If not, please consider becoming a subscriber to support local journalism in Northeast Florida .
This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Jaguars prepared to face 'elite' Bills RB James Cook in NFL playoffs
