Josh Allen returns, and James Cook goes down. Cook returns, and then Allen heads back to the tent. This is not what the Buffalo Bills were looking for in the Wild Card round game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
They trailed the Jaguars, but came up with a huge fourth-down stop and a big touchdown in response to take the lead back. Frank Gore Jr. saw snaps while Cook was on the sideline. Take a look at his journey to the NFL and how he landed on the Bills.
Frank Gore Jr.’s NFL Journey
To no one’s surprise, Frank Gore Jr. is the son of the legendary 49ers running back Frank Gore. The Bills running back grew up in Florida as the son of an NFL legend. It’s a lot of pressure to live up to the expectations of a player like his father, yet Gore Jr. has carved his own path. After his high school football career, he earned the opportunity to play college football.
Gore Jr. originally committed to play for Florida Atlantic University, but flipped his decision to play for Southern Miss. Gore Jr. was a four-year player at Southern Miss. He racked up over 4,000 rushing yards and 30 touchdowns in the four seasons he played for the Golden Eagles.
After two 1,000+ rushing yard seasons in his last two years, it was time to move on to the next chapter. Gore Jr. didn’t get selected in the 2024 NFL Draft and was signed by the Bills as an undrafted free agent.
Gore Jr. has bounced around between the practice squad and active roster in Buffalo. He’s rarely gotten the opportunity to show his skills, but he got some action today.
After Ray Davis coughed up the ball on a kickoff and was seemingly shaken up, Gore Jr. got on the field when Cook was sitting on the sideline. The Bills have one of the best rushing attacks in the league behind the 5th-ranked offensive line in PFSN’s Team OL Impact score. It helps to have Allen and Cook, but with an offensive line like Buffalo, running backs like Gore Jr. could capitalize on opportunities as well.
The Bills lead by three heading into halftime. Cook is healthy, Allen is banged up but balling out, and Gore Jr. might not see much action with Davis looking alright on the sideline as well. Buffalo will need to hold on against a Jacksonville team that is flying around the field and hungry to move on.
Editor’s Note: This is a breaking news story and will be updated throughout the day as more information becomes available.
