The Buffalo Bills started the year 1-0 with a thrilling 36-31 road win over the Houston Texans in a back-and-forth game.
Although Buffalo got the win, starting running back James Cook did struggle, as he rushed for just 57 yards on 13 carries. He didn’t find the end zone and also fumbled late in the game.
The Bills will host the Detroit Lions on Thursday in Buffalo’s home opener in Week 2.
Buffalo Bills HC Sends Message to James Cook
With Buffalo on a short week, the Bills are already turning their attention to the Lions.
Yet, before they can fully turn the page, Bills head coach Joe Brady revealed that Cook is still pissed off about his performance on Sunday. And despite a fumble, Brady said he will continue to give the ball to Cook out of the backfield.
“I talked to him on the plane; he knows how important he is to our football team,” Brady said on Tuesday. “He understands. I told the team, it’s the smoke detectors; we put the ball on the ground. And if our offensive line doesn’t do the little things, run to the football and don’t recover. If we lose that game, a lot of people will point to the fact we fumbled.
“And we did fumble; it can’t be because we won the football game we didn’t have any turnovers. James is acknowledging it, and for the rest of the season, people are going to say he’s going to put it out there. It came from behind. I’m not gonna have any restraints on giving James Cook the ball. I’m trusting him; he has to do his job. There’s a reason why he’s one of the best backs in football. He understands that when he has the ball, he has all of our jobs on the line.”
It’s a clear message from Brady to Cook that, despite the fumble, he still has full confidence in him. However, the Bills head coach knows Cook can’t be giving the ball up like that and has to have more ball security going forward.
Buffalo Focusing on Detroit
Given that the Bills are on a short week, Buffalo has already turned its attention to the Lions.
After the win, Brady said he already began getting ready for the Lions as he knows they pose a lot of problems.
“A couple of people have asked me how I celebrated the win, and I went straight [home] and had to watch an overtime game,” Brady said, referencing the Lions-Saints ending. “That’s part of the Thursday night games. We can sleep on Friday, but let’s do everything we got to do to help put our guys in position to have success.”
Brady, meanwhile, is expecting a fun game on Thursday in the Bills first regular season game at Highmark Stadium.
“Both teams played a lot of plays [on Sunday], and so there’s going to be a lot of getting the bodies right and making sure that you’re mentally sharp,” Brady said. “It’ll be an outstanding atmosphere and it’s a matchup that everybody should be excited about.”
The Bills are 4.5-point favorites.
Bills HC Joe Brady Sends Clear Message to James Cook Ahead of Lions Game