James Cook rushed for 117 yards and scored two touchdowns, Josh Allen stayed in the game despite a foot injury, and the Buffalo Bills moved closer to making the NFL playoffs with a 23-20 win over the Cleveland Browns on Sunday.
Ty Johnson also scored a rushing touchdown for the Bills (11-4), who earned their fourth straight victory and fifth in their last six outings.
Allen played in the second half even though he injured his right foot during the second quarter.
Allen was trying to protect his foot after he was sacked jointly by Myles Garrett and Alex Wright for a 22-yard loss to the Bills’ one-yard line with 60 seconds left in the first half.
Garrett has 22 sacks in 2025 and he only needs one in the Browns’ last two games (3-12) to pass Michael Strahan and TJ Watt for the most sacks in a single season.
Allen completed 12 passes in 19 attempts for 130 yards. He added 17 yards on the ground, on seven carries.
Cook, who had at least 100 rushing yards in his ninth game this season, crossed the goal line on runs of 44 yards and three yards.
Michael Badgley added a 41-yard field goal in the third quarter for the Bills.
In the defeat, quarterback Shedeur Sanders completed 20 of his 29 passes for gains of 157 yards and a touchdown. He was also the most prolific on the ground for the Browns with four rushes for gains of 49 yards.
Sanders, however, was the victim of two interceptions which allowed the Bills to score 10 points.
Tight end Harold Fannin Jr. scored both of the Browns’ touchdowns, including one on a 1-yard run in the third quarter that cut the Bills’ lead to 23-17.
