Who Should I Start? Joe Mixon or James Cook

Thursday, November 20, 12:34 PM

Houston Texans running back Joe Mixon (ankle, foot) is not expected to play this season as he deals with a foot injury from the offseason, according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network. Mixon will likely stay on the Physically Unable to Perform list through the end of the 2025 season, while the Texans move forward with veteran Nick Chubb and rookie Woody Marks in their backfield. Things had been trending this way for a while, as the Texans haven't been giving any real updates on Mixon for pretty much the entire season. Fantasy managers who are still stashing the 29-year-old in redraft leagues should send him to the waiver wire now. Mixon's injury dates all the way back to spring workouts. One would think he'd be ready for the start of the 2026 campaign, but there has been little information about the exact nature of his injury. Marks, a fourth-rounder in April, has slowly started to see more work and should be the backfield leader over Chubb by the end of the year.

Thursday, November 20, 11:30 PM

Buffalo Bills running back James Cook had 17 carries for 116 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown during Thursday's Week 12 loss against the Houston Texans. He also caught all three of his targets for an additional 13 receiving yards. The highlight of his game was a 45-yard touchdown run to break the scoreless tie in the first quarter. Even as the Bills' offense was slowed down by the Texans' strong defense, Cook still had a very productive game and carved out a terrific fantasy performance once again. He logged his first rushing touchdown since Week 8 and now has nine trips to the end zone this season. He remains a high-end RB1 option heading into Week 13 against the Pittsburgh Steelers.