James Cook’s three first-half touchdowns have Bills rolling

MIAMI — The Buffalo Bills jumped out to an early lead over the Miami Dolphins on “Thursday Night Football” thanks to defensive back JaMarcus Ingram’s first career interception.

The first-quarter touchdown came on a 17-yard pass from quarterback Josh Allen to running back James Cook on fourth down and 3 after the Bills took a pre-play timeout.

The Bills used pre-snap motion to position wide receiver Curtis Samuel in the backfield behind Allen with Cook moving from the left to the right of the quarterback, then Cook ran to the left, caught a wide open pass and ran along the sideline to the end zone.

The play capped a six-play, 37-yard drive that came after Ingram ended the Dolphins’ first drive of the game early. Ingram is playing in the team’s dime package with Cam Lewis starting at nickel corner in place of the injured Taron Johnson (forearm).

The pass gave Allen 226 career touchdown passes, moving him to second all-time through a player’s first seven seasons, behind Dan Marino and Peyton Manning (225). The Bills only had three games last season with a touchdown on the opening drive (2-1 in those games).

Cook continued his momentum in the second quarter, scoring first on a 1-yard handoff from Allen to extend Buffalo’s lead to 17-7 with 6:25 left in the second quarter.

The next minute the Bills received the ball, Cook scored again to put Buffalo up 24-7 with 3:36 left in the first half. This time, Cook received the handoff, raced up the middle, then down the right sideline. Former Bills safety Jordan Poyer tried to tackle Cook as he ran down the field, but no one got close. Cook then dove into the end zone and dumped the ball deep into the stands.

The 49-yard touchdown was the longest rush by a Bills player since Devin Singletary’s 51-yarder against the Denver Broncos in 2020. Cook had 60 yards on five carries in the first half, including a 17-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.

The Bills scored on four of their five first-half drives. Cook, who did not score in the season opener against Arizona, scored all three of his touchdowns (two running, one receiving). His two running touchdowns matched his total from the 2022 and 2023 seasons. Cook is just the third Bills player in the last 30 years to score three first-half touchdowns, both of which came against the Dolphins (Lee Evans in Week 13, 2005, and Isaiah McKenzie in Week 17, 2020).