The Buffalo Bills will face the New England Patriots in Week 16. 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 in Week 16?
Cook is not listed on the injury report this week, so barring any setbacks, he is on track 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 Week 16?
Buffalo running backs last week, against one of the best defenses in the league, picked up 285 scrimmage yards and scored three times.
No big deal.
Cook was a big part of that, notching his third game this season with 100 rushing yards and his fourth with multiple rushing scores. I’m willing to write off Ty Johnson’s usage last week as more of a matchup thing than anything else, so I’m not too worried about the role of Cook in this explosive offense. He’s been a top-12 producer at the position in four of his past five games.
This season, the Patriots allow points at the 10th-highest rate, the fourth-most yards to running backs before contact per carry, and the second-highest passer rating when targeting RBs. You’re thanking your lucky stars to have a piece of this offense and enjoying the ride.
Are you looking for start/sit advice for other players in your lineup? Read our Week 16 Fantasy Start-Sit Advice Cheat Sheet for every fantasy-relevant player in every game.
James Cook’s Fantasy Points Projection in Week 16
As of Sunday morning, Cook is projected to score 14.5 fantasy points in PPR formats. This includes 15.4 rushing attempts for 80.3 yards and 0.2 touchdowns. It also includes 1.3 receptions for 28.5 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 Jets' Defense
Since Robert Saleh's departure, the New York Jets' defense hasn't been pretty. At the time of his firing, this was a top-three unit, with two top-five weeks and two others that had ranked seventh through five weeks.
The Jets have now slowly regressed towards league average, with their final ranking likely to drop further as they finish their season against a pair of strong division opponents (Bills, Dolphins).
The Week 16 loss to the Los Angeles Rams resulted in a 70.3 (C-) grade, the team's fifth-worst of the season. Three of the Jets' three lowest grades have come in the last three weeks, as the unit plays out the string on a lost season.
Sunday's grade was brought down by a 44.8% rushing success rate, New York's worst of the season and the second-worst by any team in Week 16.
This is a frustrating downturn for a unit that Saleh and Jeff Ulbrich had built into a juggernaut together. They inherited a bit of a mess from the Adam Gase regime, and while the first year (2021) was equally bad, the Jets had been a top-five unit in each of the last two seasons. They won't approach that in 2024 as one of the league's most disappointing teams overall.
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 7:25 AM ET on Sunday, December 29. If you're in a Superflex league, make sure you check out our Weekly Consensus Superflex Rankings.
Week 17 RB PPR Rankings
1) Saquon Barkley | PHI (vs. DAL)
2) Jahmyr Gibbs | DET (at SF)
3) Derrick Henry | BAL (at HOU)
4) Bijan Robinson | ATL (at WAS)
5) Josh Jacobs | GB (at MIN)
6) Jonathan Taylor | IND (at NYG)
7) Chase Brown | CIN (vs. DEN)
8) Kyren Williams | LAR (vs. ARI)
9) De'Von Achane | MIA (at CLE)
10) Bucky Irving | TB (vs. CAR)
11) James Conner | ARI (at LAR)
12) James Cook | BUF (vs. NYJ)
13) Tyjae Spears | TEN (at JAX)
14) Breece Hall | NYJ (at BUF)
15) Joe Mixon | HOU (vs. BAL)
16) Zach Charbonnet | SEA (at CHI)
17) Aaron Jones | MIN (vs. GB)
18) Jerome Ford | CLE (vs. MIA)
19) Brian Robinson Jr. | WAS (vs. ATL)
20) D'Andre Swift | CHI (vs. SEA)
21) Rico Dowdle | DAL (at PHI)
22) Tyrone Tracy Jr. | NYG (vs. IND)
23) Isaac Guerendo | SF (vs. DET)
24) Rhamondre Stevenson | NE (vs. LAC)
25) Rachaad White | TB (vs. CAR)
26) J.K. Dobbins | LAC (at NE)
27) Alexander Mattison | LV (at NO)
28) Jaylen Warren | PIT (vs. KC)
29) Isiah Pacheco | KC (at PIT)
30) Kimani Vidal | LAC (at NE)
31) Tank Bigsby | JAX (vs. TEN)
32) Javonte Williams | DEN (at CIN)
33) Kendre Miller | NO (vs. LV)
34) Najee Harris | PIT (vs. KC)
35) Travis Etienne Jr. | JAX (vs. TEN)
36) Ameer Abdullah | LV (at NO)
37) Kareem Hunt | KC (at PIT)
38) Devin Singletary | NYG (vs. IND)
39) Tyler Allgeier | ATL (at WAS)
40) Audric Estimé | DEN (at CIN)
41) Ray Davis | BUF (vs. NYJ)
42) Raheem Mostert | MIA (at CLE)
43) Antonio Gibson | NE (vs. LAC)
44) Kenneth Gainwell | PHI (vs. DAL)
45) Craig Reynolds | DET (at SF)
46) Cam Akers | MIN (vs. GB)
47) Ty Johnson | BUF (vs. NYJ)
48) Blake Corum | LAR (vs. ARI)
49) Roschon Johnson | CHI (vs. SEA)
50) Braelon Allen | NYJ (at BUF)
51) Patrick Taylor Jr. | SF (vs. DET)
52) Jeremy McNichols | WAS (vs. ATL)
53) Isaiah Davis | NYJ (at BUF)
54) Jaleel McLaughlin | DEN (at CIN)
55) D'Onta Foreman | CLE (vs. MIA)
56) Jamaal Williams | NO (vs. LV)
57) Cordarrelle Patterson | PIT (vs. KC)
58) Emanuel Wilson | GB (at MIN)
59) DeeJay Dallas | ARI (at LAR)
60) Chris Brooks | GB (at MIN)
61) Pierre Strong Jr. | CLE (vs. MIA)
62) Ke'Shawn Vaughn | SF (vs. DET)
63) Keaton Mitchell | BAL (at HOU)
64) Trey Benson | ARI (at LAR)
65) Raheem Blackshear | CAR (at TB)
66) Sean Tucker | TB (vs. CAR)
67) Israel Abanikanda | SF (vs. DET)
68) Michael Carter | ARI (at LAR)
69) Samaje Perine | KC (at PIT)
70) Ezekiel Elliott | DAL (at PHI)
71) Mike Boone | CAR (at TB)
72) Khalil Herbert | CIN (vs. DEN)
73) Dare Ogunbowale | HOU (vs. BAL)
74) Jaylen Wright | MIA (at CLE)
75) Kyle Juszczyk | SF (vs. DET)
76) Trey Sermon | IND (at NYG)
77) Chris Rodriguez Jr. | WAS (vs. ATL)
78) Sione Vaki | DET (at SF)
79) Hunter Luepke | DAL (at PHI)
80) Dameon Pierce | HOU (vs. BAL)
81) Alec Ingold | MIA (at CLE)
82) Tyler Goodson | IND (at NYG)
83) Hassan Haskins | LAC (at NE)
84) Kenny McIntosh | SEA (at CHI)
85) Jordan Mims | NO (vs. LV)
86) Rasheen Ali | BAL (at HOU)
87) Ty Chandler | MIN (vs. GB)
88) C.J. Ham | MIN (vs. GB)
89) Michael Burton | DEN (at CIN)
90) Julius Chestnut | TEN (at JAX)
91) Eric Gray | NYG (vs. IND)
92) Dylan Laube | LV (at NO)
93) Adam Prentice | NO (vs. LV)
94) Patrick Ricard | BAL (at HOU)
95) Carson Steele | KC (at PIT)
96) Keilan Robinson | JAX (vs. TEN)
97) Darrynton Evans | BUF (vs. NYJ)
98) Blake Watson | DEN (at CIN)
99) Clyde Edwards-Helaire | KC (at PIT)
Jets at Bills Trends and Insights
New York Jets
Team: The Jets have two Sunday wins this season. Only six teams since 2017 have ended a season with two or fewer, and those teams combined to win one Thursday game (these Jets have two Thursday wins).
QB: Aaron Rodgers joins Tom Brady (seven occurrences) and Drew Brees (one) as the only 40+ year-old QBs with three straight games of 250 passing yards and zero interceptions.
Offense: New York converted both of their red zone trips in Week 1 in San Francisco – they haven’t cashed in all of their chances in a single game since.
Defense: This defense wasn’t given a chance on Sunday. The Rams' average starting field position was the 46.6-yard line (the previous highest average starting position against New York this season was the 37-yard line).
Fantasy: Davante Adams has four straight games with 65+ receiving yards and a touchdown catch – only three receivers have had a longer such streak at age 30 or older (Terrell Owens, Cris Carter, and Muhsin Muhammed).
Betting: The Jets have covered consecutive road games (both in Florida) after going 2-9-1 ATS in their previous 12 contests away from home.
Buffalo Bills
Team: After averaging 45 points per game over a two-week stretch, there were a total of 45 points scored in Buffalo’s win over New England on Sunday.
QB: Is aggressive Josh Allen back? Over the past three weeks, the MVP front-runner owns an 11.2-yard aDOT (four games prior: 5.9).
Offense: The Bills scored a touchdown on their fourth-lowest percentage of drives in a game this season, while the Patriots matched their highest touchdown rate of the season.
The Bills beat the Patriots
Defense: In December, opponents are seven-of-seven on fourth down against Buffalo.
Fantasy: James Cook has 42 red zone touches this season compared to 35 last year – he’s scored 16 touchdowns this season compared to six last year.
Betting: After covering six of seven games, the Bills are 1-2 ATS over their past three games. They have seen six straight games decided by more than five points off of the spread.