ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) — Josh Allen may be hard-pressed to top 4,000 yards passing for a fifth consecutive season.
And that’s not a bad thing.
As much as the five-time defending AFC East champion Bills (12-3) rely on Allen to run what’s still a highly productive offense that’s averaging 31.3 points per outing, a James Cook-led running attack has provided Buffalo an added dimension.
Take Buffalo’s 24-21 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday, for example.
In a first half in which the defense struggled to get the Pats off the field and Allen went 9 of 17 for 78 yards, Cook injected the necessary spark with a 46-yard touchdown run in helping Buffalo rally from a 14-0 deficit.
The touchdown was Cook’s 14th rushing of the season, moving him into a tie for the NFL lead entering Monday. And it was Buffalo’s 29th TD rushing of the season, matching the team record set in 2016.
Allen’s passing numbers have dipped — he’s averaging 237 yards per outing, as opposed to 284 in 2020 when he shattered the Bills single-season record. The run game has picked up the slack.
Buffalo is averaging 366.5 yards per outing — down slightly from last season (374.5). And yet it hasn’t dented the team’s record. The Bills have 12 wins for the eighth time in team history, and third since 2020.
This is the balance coach Sean McDermott not only envisioned, but demanded when changing offensive coordinators midway through last season by replacing Ken Dorsey with Joe Brady.
McDermott has always emphasized his belief of games being won at the line of scrimmage. And the Bills have been a different team with Brady overseeing the offense and incorporating six-man fronts to help open holes for the running game.
Buffalo’s running attack takes the pressure off Allen having to win games with his arm. It also gives the Bills a ball-control dimension to ease the load from a patchwork and injury-depleted defense, which should be McDermott’s most pressing concern entering the playoffs.
The defense — missing four starters including three in the secondary — overcame its depleted ranks against New England with takeaways on the Patriots first three possessions of the second half. The turnover run was capped by cornerback Taron Johnson falling on a loose ball for a touchdown to put the Bills ahead 24-14 with 10:10 left after rookie Drake Maye’s backward pass glanced off the hands of Rhamondre Stevenson.
The Bills improved to 24-2 against quarterbacks with 16 or fewer starts since 2019. But that won’t matter much if Buffalo envisions a deep playoff run in an AFC bracket that already includes the experienced likes of Patrick Mahomes, Lamar Jackson and Russell Wilson.
Meantime, McDermott has another growing concern on his hands involving a mistake-prone special teams unit.
Three weeks ago, in a 44-42 loss to the Rams, Buffalo couldn’t muster a punt block in the final seconds because it only fielded nine players. Against New England, the Patriots caught Buffalo sleeping with a fake punt to convert a fourth-and-1 at its 23.
“We got to do a better job there in making sure we get the right grouping on the field,” McDermott said, before acknowledging the decision fell on coordinator Matthew Smiley.
Generating takeaways. The defense has forced a turnover in all but one outing this season. Buffalo enjoys a league-best 20-plus turnover differential entering Monday.
An injury-depleted defense that allowed 379 yards to New England — the ninth time this season an opponent has topped 350 yards. In its past three games, Buffalo has allowed a combined 1,357 yards and 86 first downs, with opponents going 24 of 40 on third downs.
Cook. The third-year running back’s 14 rushing TDs rank third on the team’s single-season list. Only Allen, with 15 last season, and O.J. Simpson, with 16 in a 14-game season in 1975, have more.
Smiley. Special teams breakdowns continue to grow for a coordinator who was promoted to the job after Heath Farwell left Buffalo following a 42-36 OT loss to Kansas City in the 2021 playoffs. The Bills were second-guessed for kicking off into the end zone, allowing the Chiefs to gain 44 yards on two plays in the final 13 seconds to set up Harrison Butker’s game-tying 49-yard field goal.
Allen hurt his throwing elbow but did not miss a snap. Buffalo’s defense was minus LB Matt Milano (groin), safeties Taylor Rapp (neck shoulder) and Damar Hamlin (ribs), and cornerback Rasul Douglas (knee). LB Baylon Spector, starting in place of Milano, is week to week after hurting his calf on Sunday.
4 — Number of times the Bills have finished with 13 wins.
Have a chance to finish 8-0 at Orchard Park for just the second time in team history in closing their home schedule against the New York Jets on Sunday.
AP NFL: https://apnews.com/hub/nfl
Buffalo Bills cornerback Taron Johnson (7) celebrates with fans after recovering a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Orchard Park, N.Y.. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) carries the ball into the end zone against New England Patriots cornerback Christian Gonzalez (0) for a touchdown against the during the second quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Orchard Park, N.Y.. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Buffalo Bills running back James Cook (4) carries the ball for a touchdown against the New England Patriots during the second quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, in Orchard Park, N.Y.. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper is leaving his job after eight years in which the southern Democrat picked his moments against a Republican-dominated legislature, winning big on Medicaid expansion and clean energy while falling short in fights over private-school vouchers and abortion rights.
Cooper, who steered the state through the coronavirus pandemic, Hurricanes Helene and Florence and an early flashpoint in the culture wars over access to public restrooms, was barred from seeking a third consecutive term. He is wrapping up 24 consecutive years in statewide office — the first 16 as attorney general.
In a December interview with The Associated Press at the executive mansion, Cooper reflected on his gubernatorial terms with an emphasis on the positive — an easier undertaking compared with many Democrats around the country in the aftermath of this year's election.
"To be able to wake up every morning and get to lead the state that you love has been humbling, challenging and fulfilling. I have really valued every day,” said Cooper, who will be succeeded by state Attorney General Josh Stein, a fellow Democrat, in early January.
Faced with veto-proof majorities for almost half of his time as governor, Cooper was unable to stop many GOP initiatives, including deep income tax cuts, taxpayer-funded vouchers to help public school students attend private schools and new restrictions on abortion.
But Cooper, one of several Democratic governors seen as potential contenders for federal office, managed last year to persuade GOP legislative leaders to expand Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act — something he had sought since getting sworn in as governor in 2017. Now 600,000 low-income adults are enrolled in the program a year ahead of expectations.
“This is a generational investment in people’s health,” Cooper said during a farewell address last week in Nash County, where he grew up and launched his first gubernatorial campaign in 2015. Another bipartisan agreement was reached in 2021 on a milestone energy bill that ordered sharp reductions in greenhouse gas emissions from power plants.
Cooper takes credit for conditions that led to big corporate expansions that he says have contributed to hundreds of thousands of new jobs being created during the past eight years, including those in the clean energy sector. But he also gives his rare praise to Republican lawmakers for all working together on offering economic incentives that have lured companies such as Apple, Toyota and Boom Supersonic to build in the state.
Still, Republicans contend Cooper receives too much acclaim for the state’s broad economic success and has pushed for reckless state spending at every turn. Most of his record 100-plus vetoes were overridden.
“There has not been a governor who has had less of his agenda enacted and North Carolina has succeeded in spite of his leadership failures," state GOP spokesperson Matt Mercer said.
Regardless, Cooper’s perceived accomplishments in a swing state raised his national profile during this year’s presidential campaign, making him as a potential running mate for Kamala Harris until he said it "just wasn’t the right time" for him and for North Carolina. Now Cooper, 67, will have to decide whether trying to unseat U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican, in 2026 is in the cards after holding what he calls the “best job I have ever had.”
While North Carolina Democrats have won eight of past nine gubernatorial elections, they haven’t won a U.S. Senate race since 2008.
“If you’re going to run for public office again, you must have your heart and soul in it, you must have the fire in the belly,” Cooper told the AP.
With that in mind, he said he planned to take a couple of months to clear his head before deciding what’s next: “I’m going to think about how I can best contribute to the things that I care about.”
It’s little wonder why many North Carolina Democrats want Cooper to remain on the political stage. He has never lost a race for state office, from the legislature in the mid-1980s and including a 10,000-vote win over then-GOP Gov. Pat McCrory in 2016.
“What he’s done really from my perspective is he’s kept the progressive flame alive in North Carolina in a difficult time,” said Gary Pearce, a longtime Democratic political consultant who worked with four-term Gov. Jim Hunt. “I’m not sure anybody else could have done it as well as he did.”
Cooper took on Republicans even before he was sworn in.
As governor-elect he began a series of lawsuits challenging legislation approved weeks before he took office that shifted executive branch powers to the legislature. The legal results were mixed, and even now litigation over his appointment powers remains in court. This month, Republican lawmakers enacted more changes that would weaken Stein's gubernatorial authority. A lawsuit has been filed.
In his first three months in office, Cooper worked with lawmakers to partially repeal the 2016 “bathroom bill,” which had required transgender people to use public bathrooms aligned with the gender on their birth certificate. The law had lost the state business, including canceled sporting events and job expansions, and “North Carolina’s reputation was in tatters,” Cooper said.
Eight years later, “we built a North Carolina that is healthier, better educated, with more money in people’s pockets, and we stand ready to welcome prosperity with open arms for generations to come,” Cooper said.
Republicans cite several shortcomings in Cooper's administration. They include spending overruns at the state Department of Transportation; continued delays to rebuild or renovate homes for eastern North Carolina residents after Hurricanes Matthew in 2016 and Florence in 2018; and executive orders that helped extend restrictions on businesses and school instruction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“It’s been painful dealing with the governor fiscally,” Republican state Sen. Warren Daniel said. “I just think he’s not very good at managing government.”
Cooper has defended his actions, particularly his pandemic leadership, saying North Carolina came out better than many other states.
Even in policy defeats, Cooper secured the admiration of supporters. The Democratic governor used lots of political capital in 2023 trying unsuccessfully to block a law that changed the state’s ban on most abortions from after 20 weeks of pregnancy to 12 weeks. Republicans overrode his veto.
“There’s simply no governor who’s ever fought as hard or as publicly as Gov. Cooper has to protect access to abortion,” said Paige Johnson with Planned Parenthood South Atlantic.
Plenty of North Carolinians see that differently. Cooper’s opposition to the abortion bill reflects an administration that “has been consistently hostile to policies that serve the best interests of North Carolina families,” said Tami Fitzgerald, executive director of the NC Values Coalition.
Cooper said he has confidence that Stein, who succeeded him as attorney general, will “continue a lot of the progress that we have made.” Cooper hired Stein two decades ago, while attorney general, to be his consumer protection chief.
Otherwise, Cooper knows that he’ll miss “having the opportunity every single day to do something to make a real difference.”
“That’s what you can do in this job,” he added. "And whatever I decide to do, that’s going to be hard to replicate."
FILE - North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper unveils a report during a press conference in Raleigh, N.C., Oct. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson, File)
FILE - North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper, center left, watches a robotics team at Nashville Elementary School in Nashville, N.C., direct its vehicle in the school library, Tuesday, Jan. 23, 2024. (AP Photo/Gary D. Robertson, File)
FILE - Roy Cooper is sworn in as North Carolina governor shortly after midnight at the historic state Capitol Building in Raleigh, N.C., early Sunday, Jan. 1, 2017. (AP Photo/Ben McKeown, Pool, File)
FILE - North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper arrives to speak at a campaign event in Charlotte, N.C., Sept. 12, 2024. (AP Photo/Nell Redmond, File)
