Bills' Brady warns Cook of 'consequences' for costly fumbles - ESPN

NEWPORT BEACH, Calif. — Buffalo Bills coach Joe Brady said that there have to be «consequences» for running back James Cook's fumbling issues if they persist and that they could include taking away carries or playing time.

Cook had two fumbles in Monday's 37-34 win over the Los Angeles Rams, losing one in overtime. That brings his total to four on the season and 11 since the start of 2025, including the postseason. Cook is the NFL's leading rusher over that span with 245 more yards than the closest runner, but his 11 fumbles are also the most of any non-quarterback.

«Look, he's doing so many good things running the football,» Brady told reporters from the Bills' hotel outside Los Angeles on Tuesday. «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. I have all the confidence in him. That's why I put him right back out there. But obviously, at some point there has to be consequences to when we're putting negative stuff out there.

»It's going to cost us football games. It almost cost us one. We can't confuse because we won the game that that's OK. It's got to improve or the carries are going to decrease."

Cook's lost fumble came in about as costly a situation as possible. Two minutes into overtime, he coughed up a carry just outside the red zone, turning a drive that likely would have given the Bills a lead in the extra session into an opportunity for the Rams to win with any points on the ensuing possession. Had it not been for edge defender Greg Rousseau's heroics in blocking the Rams' would-be winning field goal, Cook's fumble could have meant disaster.

After Rousseau's block, though, Brady called Cook's number on the next