The Buffalo Bills will face the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional Round. Here’s the latest fantasy football news and advice to help you with your lineups this week and moving forward, especially regarding RB James Cook.
Is James Cook Playing vs. the Ravens?
Cook was not listed on the injury report this week. Barring any last-minute setbacks, he is expected to play this weekend.
We’ll continue to monitor the Bills’ injury report. You can also visit and bookmark our NFL Injury Tracker and Fantasy News Tracker for the latest updates.
Should You Start or Sit James Cook in the Divisional Round?
I don’t know about you, but I break down every game before building out my DFS lineups. and the first step of that process is landing on a general game state. Usually, this means picking a winner and working backward.
If you think the Bills defend their home field, your analysis might not need to go much further. In their past six wins, James Cook has posted an elite 45.3% elusive rating in our custom metric, fueling production that checks in 66.8% over PPR expectation.
Translation: when the game plays in his favor, he’s as good as anyone in the sport.
Due to how things have played out, the position is loaded with options. I expect many to pile onto the three big names (Derrick Henry, Saquon Barkley, and Jahmyr Gibbs) and then pay down to balance out their salary cap — that could leave us a great buying opportunity.
Cook cleared 100 rushing yards before Josh Allen got to triple figures through the air last week, and while I’m not projecting anything like that this week, I do believe he is the type of player that can come through in a big way, even against a stingy run defense (the Bills ran for just 81 yards on 23 carries in the first meeting), if the ownership price is right.
The rosters with star running backs are going to run low on money quickly and the teams who elect to build around Allen aren’t too likely to pair him with Cook, as the QB-RB construction isn’t a comfortable one due to the lack of a clear path to correlated scoring.
I’m in. All the way.
Heck, if you wanted to get creative and hold the late hammer, putting Allen with Cook is in play. This allows you to have access to a somewhat unique tandem in the final game of the slate, thus giving you the ability to make up ground as the week nears an end. It’s not my favorite build of the week, but I can tell you that I’ll have an Allen-Cook-Isaiah Likely team in my portfolio this weekend.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Divisional Round Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
James Cook’s Fantasy Points Projection in the Divisional Round
As of Sunday, Cook is projected to score 16.3 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 17.3 rushing attempts for 90.2 yards and 0.3 touchdowns. It also includes 1.5 receptions for 32 yards and 0.2 touchdowns.
Check out the free PFN Fantasy Start-Sit Optimizer for the latest projections and advice for your lineups this week.
PFN Insight on the Ravens' Defense
The 2023 Ravens led the league in scoring defense but only ranked 10th in Defense+. This year's Ravens fell to ninth in scoring defense but fared better in Defense+.
That improved form held true in the Wild Card win over the Pittsburgh Steelers. While Baltimore's 75.3 (C) grade was nothing special, that's usually all this offense needs to win. The Ravens were able to exploit Russell Wilson's tendency to hold the ball, averaging their second-highest sack rate (11.8%) of the season.
Since moving Kyle Hamilton to safety in Week 11, the Ravens rank first in points per drive, first in EPA per dropback, first in third-down defense, and first in red-zone defense (including playoffs).
Paired with a run defense that has been elite all season, Baltimore suddenly looks like one of the scariest No. 3 seeds in recent memory. With the offense playing at an elite level led by presumptive MVP Lamar Jackson, Baltimore could be better equipped to make the Super Bowl than last year's team, even without the advantage of the top seed.
For more insight on all other team defenses, head to our PFN Defense+ Metric Analysis.
James Cook’s Fantasy Ranking
Our Weekly Consensus PPR Rankings are below — both positional and overall. They were last updated at 9:15 AM ET on Saturday, January 18. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Divisional Round Superflex Rankings.
Divisional Round RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. LAR)
2) Derrick Henry | BAL (at BUF)
3) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (vs. WAS)
4) Kyren Williams | LAR (at PHI)
5) James Cook | BUF (vs. BAL)
6) Joe Mixon | HOU (at KC)
7) David Montgomery | DET (vs. WAS)
8) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (at DET)
9) Austin Ekeler | WAS (at DET)
10) Isiah Pacheco | KC (vs. HOU)
11) Kareem Hunt | KC (vs. HOU)
12) Justice Hill | BAL (at BUF)
13) Ty Johnson | BUF (vs. BAL)
14) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. LAR)
15) Samaje Perine | KC (vs. HOU)
16) Craig Reynolds | DET (vs. WAS)
17) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (at KC)
18) Ronnie Rivers | LAR (at PHI)
19) Keaton Mitchell | BAL (at BUF)
20) Dameon Pierce | HOU (at KC)
21) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (at DET)
22) Patrick Ricard | BAL (at BUF)
23) Carson Steele | KC (vs. HOU)
24) Reggie Gilliam | BUF (vs. BAL)
25) Sione Vaki | DET (vs. WAS)
Ravens at Bills Trends and Insights
Baltimore Ravens
Team: Lamar Jackson was the MVP in 2019. The next season ...
- *Won on Wild Card Weekend (he had 179 pass yards)
- *Derrick Henry was the home RB in that Wild Card game
- *Advanced to play a 13-win Bills team
Jackson was the MVP in 2023. This season …
- *Won on Wild Card Weekend (he had 175 pass yards)
- *Derrick Henry was the home RB in that Wild Card game
- *Will play a 13-win Bills team
QB: Since Week 9, Jackson has completed 75.8% of his non-pressured passes with 20 touchdowns and just one interception on those 161 attempts.
Offense: Over their past five games (all wins), Baltimore has scored a touchdown on 40.8% of their drives (they were one of the elite offenses prior to this run with a 33.3% rate).
Defense: Opponents are 0-of-6 on fourth downs against the Ravens over the past four games (prior: 12-of-23).
Fantasy: On Saturday, Derrick Henry became the first player in NFL history to have four games in a season with 130 rushing yards and multiple rushing touchdowns when he was 30+ years of age.
Betting: Baltimore has covered six of eight road games after failing to do so in the season opener at Arrowhead.
Buffalo Bills
Team: All four of Buffalo’s losses this season have come following a blowout result the week prior.
QB: Excluding the one-snap Week 18, Josh Allen is 13-of-16 with two touchdowns and zero interceptions on third down over his past two games.
Offense: The Bills have not committed a turnover in six of seven games since their Week 12 bye.
Defense: Buffalo allowed Baltimore to score a TD on all four of their red zone trips in their Week 4 meeting – they’ve allowed two red zone scores on six trips over their past three games (Denver was 0-of-1).
Fantasy: The Bills didn’t lead for a single second of the first game with the Ravens – James Cook’s production over expectation this season is 16.4% higher when playing from ahead as opposed to behind.
Betting: The Bills have rotated covering with not covering in seven straight games (they covered easily against the Broncos on Sunday).
