Bills running back James Cook has been named the AFC Offensive Player of the Week after rushing for a career-high 179 yards while adding 42 yards on two receptions in Buffalo's 31-10 win over the Dallas Cowboys in Week 15.

This is Cook's first player of the week award and he's the first Bills running back to win the offensive player of the week award since Travis Henry in Week 6 of 2002. He's also the fifth Bills running back to when the award.

Cook saw 27 total touches as the Bills ran the ball on over 75 percent of their 65 total plays. From the beginning, the Bills relied heavily on Cook's explosiveness as he had five carries in Buffalo's opening touchdown drive.

His first touchdown of the day came through the air. Accounting for 63 of Buffalo's 86 yards gained on the drive, Cook made a nice catch on a low ball from Josh Allen for an 18-yard touchdown catch.

A few drives later, Cook broke off a 25-yard run to the end zone, doing a front flip as he notched his second score of the day.

"I work my tail off every day, so the confidence level is gonna come in practice," Cook said after the game. "Once you want to practice hard and do things right, it's a confidence booster and it's gonna show on Sundays."

Cook's field vision allowed him to avoid contact at one of the highest levels in the league this season. His average of 4.2 yards before contract per rush made him just the third player in the last two seasons to average at least 4.0 YBC on 25+ rushes, per ESPN’s Ed Werder.

After Sunday's win, Cook has the second-most rushing yards in the NFL with 968 yards and his 5.1 yards per carry is tied for the fourth-highest yards per carry rate at 5.1.

"Jimmy's an easy guy to cheer for, does everything right throughout the week," said right tackle Spencer Brown. "Just the juice he has, the burst he has, the playmaking ability. I mean, he's just a really, really good team guy that you really want to cheer for and see do well."