David Butler II-Imagn Images/Jerry Lai-Imagn Images
Bills QB Josh Allen and RB James Cook next to Colin Cowherd
There are debatable sports takes, and then there are takes where the internet can simply open the league statistics page and hit you with a receipt. Colin Cowherd argued this week that Josh Allen does not have the running-back help Patrick Mahomes now enjoys, which became slightly awkward considering James Cook literally led the NFL in rushing last season.
Cowherd was praising Kenneth Walker III after his monster Chiefs debut when he compared Kansas City’s offense to a relay race and said Walker could carry the baton when Mahomes was not at his best.
He then applied the analogy to Buffalo and said in the original clip that “that’s what Josh Allen doesn’t have,” prompting X users to attach a Community Note reminding everyone that Allen plays next to the reigning NFL rushing champion.
“Mahomes is running a race but it’s a relay race and Kenneth Walker ran the anchor leg. That’s what Josh Allen doesn’t have… If Josh plays poorly – Lights out, they’re not winning a big game.”@colincowherd argues Josh Allen still doesn’t have enough help in Buffalo pic.twitter.com/42HQ4lYn73
— Herd w/Colin Cowherd (@TheHerd) September 16, 2026
James Cook Is A Pretty Difficult Running Back To Forget
The premise was not that Buffalo needs more help generally. That would be an argument.
Cowherd’s point was specifically that Mahomes now has a running back capable of taking pressure off him while Josh Allen is essentially forced to carry Buffalo by himself.
Unfortunately, James Cook exists.
The NFL’s 2025 rushing leaderboard has Cook sitting at the very top with 1,621 rushing yards, ahead of Derrick Henry’s 1,595 and Jonathan Taylor’s 1,585. Cook also scored 12 rushing touchdowns and averaged more than five yards per carry.
Kenneth Walker, the player Cowherd used as the favorable comparison, rushed for 1,027 yards last season.
That does not mean Walker is not excellent. His Kansas City debut was ridiculous: 173 rushing yards in a 31-10 win over Denver while Mahomes worked his way back into form.
It simply means using Walker to prove that Josh Allen lacks a productive running back requires temporarily deleting the NFL rushing champion from Buffalo’s roster, and a Community Note highlighting that over
James Cook Then Made The Timing Even Funnier
Cook apparently decided the statistical correction needed a live demonstration. One night after Cowherd’s take made the rounds, Buffalo opened its new Highmark Stadium with a 41-31 win over Detroit.
Cook ran 21 times for 135 yards and a touchdown, while Allen threw three touchdowns and ran for two more.
That looks suspiciously like two players sharing offensive responsibility.
Through two games, Buffalo is 2-0, Allen still looks like an alien and Cook is continuing to provide the exact sort of backfield production Cowherd was arguing Allen does not possess.
Cowherd’s broader idea is understandable. Elite quarterbacks benefit enormously when somebody else can take over a game, and Kansas City adding Walker gives Mahomes a weapon the Chiefs badly needed.
Buffalo just already had one.