James Cook ran for 117 yards and two touchdowns as the visiting Buffalo Bills saw their defense deliver in the fourth quarter and inched closer to clinching their seventh straight playoff berth with a 23-20 victory over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday afternoon.
The Bills (11-4) struggled offensively in the second half but did just enough to win their fourth straight. Buffalo needed a loss by the Houston Texans later Sunday or Indianapolis Colts on Monday night to secure a playoff spot.
Cook had his NFL-best ninth 100-yard game and rushed for multiple TDs for the fourth time this season. He also joined O.J. Simpson as the second player in team history to reach 1,500 rushing yards in a season.
Cook scored the tying TD with 7:47 left in the opening quarter when he ran up the middle for 4 yards. He also had a 3-yard scoring run with 2:23 left in the first half for a 20-10 lead.
Ty Johnson scored a tiebreaking 2-yard TD with 12:54 left in the second quarter as the Bills finished with 164 rushing yards.
Buffalo’s Josh Allen was cleared after injuring his leg on a sack late in the first half and completed 12 of 19 passes for 130 yards. He also was held to 17 rushing yards.
Badgley kicked two field goals after being elevated from the practice squad following a quad injury to Matt Prater. His 41-yard field goal with 9:37 left in the third quarter put the Bills ahead 23-10.
Rookie Harold Fannin Jr. had two TDs for the Browns (3-12), who lost their fourth straight. The tight end had a 13-yard scoring catch on Cleveland’s first drive with 10:42 left in the first quarter and a 1-yard run with 1:36 left in the fourth to get the Browns within 23-17.
Sanders completed 20 of 29 passes for 157 yards and also got picked off twice.
Rookie kicker Andre Szmyt had two field goals, including a 41-yarder with 8:46 left to bring the Browns within 23-20 after the Bills were unable to convert a fourth down.
Buffalo’s defense was on the field for over 35 minutes but came up with big plays throughout. The two biggest occurred in the final five minutes.
With 5:08 remaining, Greg Rousseau sacked Sanders for a 14-yard loss to give the Bills possession at the Cleveland 30. After Dawson Knox dropped an 11-yard pass in the end zone on fourth-and-1 with 2:53 left, Rousseau sacked Sanders, who was pushed back to the end zone. The Browns were forced to punt and the Bills ran out the clock.
