Why did the Bills abandon James Cook when they needed him most vs. the Chiefs?

With a trip to Super Bowl 59 on the line, Josh Allen wasn't the Buffalo Bills most valuable player. It was running back James Cook.

Cook enjoyed a breakout 2024, recording his first 1,000-yard rushing campaign and tying for the league lead with 16 touchdowns on the ground. While Mack Hollins answered the call with a pair of deep receptions in the AFC title game Sunday, it was Cook's ability to turn chicken crap into chicken salad that made this a tie game late at Arrowhead Stadium.

Nothing illustrated this better than the 80-yard drive that gave the Bills a 22-21 lead in the third quarter. First came a 33-yard run made possible by a thoroughly vicious stiff-arm of Nazeeh Johnson that could have the Kansas City cornerback considering skipping next week's film session.

Then, an absolute masterclass in effort and body control in a gotta-have-it fourth down situation after the Chiefs had rebuffed back-to-back Allen sneaks.

Cook's brilliance wasn't limited to a single drive. His first touchdown saw him stare down a sea of white jerseys before navigating through the swells and into the safe harbor of the end zone.

Cook had 134 total yards on 16 touches (13 handoffs, three targets) and a pair of touchdowns with nine minutes left in the game. He finished with... 134 total yards. So why would a Buffalo team in dire need of offense turn away from the guy averaging nearly 8.4 yards each time the Bills looked his way?

Injury may have played a role, as trainers checked him out over a five minute span early in the fourth quarter. Still, that didn't stop him from re-entering the game and gaining 23 yards on a screen play on a game-tying scoring drive. But that was the last time he touched the ball, splitting time with backup Ty Johnson (six carries, 19 yards) along the way. If he was hampered by something physical, it didn't look that way on that big gain and head coach Sean McDermott didn't mention it in his postgame interview with Evan Washburn.

Cook was third only to Patrick Mahomes and Xavier Worthy when it came to expected points added (EPA) among players with at least five touches Sunday night. Yet when the Bills started a potential game-winning drive with 3:33 to play and three timeouts trailing by three points, it was Johnson who got the first down handoff. He didn't see the ball in any of the five plays that closed the book on Buffalo's 2024 season.

At face value, this looks like a stunning dereliction of duties from offensive coordinator Joe Brady. Cook averaged 6.5 yards per carry. None of his three targets came more than a yard downfield and he managed to turn them into nearly 50 receiving yards. His extraordinary efforts almost single-handedly kept the Bills in the game.

But with the game on the line, he was a ghost.

It feels like there must be more to this story -- an injury or some other issue that kept him from being anything more than a decoy on the field. The Bills haven't commented either way. Regardless of why, his absence was a difference maker Sunday night. After dragging Buffalo to the end zone twice, he was an afterthought in the biggest drive of the season.

That's baffling. Brady and company better have a good reason why.

This article originally appeared on For The Win: Why did the Bills abandon James Cook when they needed him most vs. the Chiefs?