ORCHARD PARK — The Buffalo Bills sorely needed a spark when James Cook lined up behind Josh Allen.
The Bills were trailing the New England Patriots 14-0 in the second quarter. Three minutes into the second quarter, the Bills were set to run just their ninth offensive play of the game and Cook had just one rushing attempt at that point.
With the play moving to the left, Cook stuck his foot in the ground and slightly reversed field. Cook darted through a gaping hole and out-raced the Patriots defense to the end zone for a 46-yard touchdown.
It was the first of 24 consecutive points by the Bills in a 24-21 win over the Patriots. It was the sixth 40-yard gain by the Bills in four games — the third by Cook — and the 14 plays of 40 yards or more already surpassed last season’s total of 10.
“Any time you have a big play, it’s like a shot of adrenaline,” Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins said. “Like literally like a shot of adrenaline. And it’s fun. It makes the game fun, when you have giant chunks and it makes it easier.”
When the Bills got to the line of scrimmage, he had guard Alec Anderson lined up as a tight end to his left and fullback Reggie Gilliam on his left. But the Patriots came out with five defenders on the line of scrimmage and eight players in the box.
According to right guard O’Cyrus Torrence, the initial play was a duo run — an inside run designed to get offensive linemen to double-team at the point of attack. But the Bills were at a disadvantage in the numbers game so Allen audible to a stretch run to the left.
Dawkins and left guard David Edwards mauled their assignments, while center Connor McGovern sealed off nose tackle Davon Godchaux. There were also two key blocks, starting with Torrence immediately getting to linebacker Sione Takitaki.
Torrence not only used a 100-pound weight advantage, but caught Takitaki with his momentum already moving to his right. Had Torrence not cleared him out, Takitaki would have been responsible for plugging the cut-back lane.
The other block that was pivotal was when Anderson and Gilliam secured a double-team block on defensive end Keion White. Cook also played his part, moving from the left hashmark, past the right (roughly 8 yards), before hitting the cut-back hole opened by Torrence and McGovern.
Between the Anderson-Gilliam block and Cook’s patience, Patriots safety Marte Mapu assumed the run was going outside, which is exactly what the play was designed to make him think.
Just as Torrence overwhelmed Takitaki, Cook put his left foot into the ground and hit the hole. All Mapu could do was attempt a dive to Cook’s ankles.
“Knowing they’re going to bring pressure, you know they’re going to get to the outside,” Torrence said. “So you got to make sure you got the backside. My job was to get to my man and push up fast. Once I got to him, I pushed him fast and I saw Jimbo running right behind me.”