The Bills may have gotten off to a bit of a slow start in their first game after their bye, but the club had no trouble dispatching of the Panthers for a dominant 40-9 victory.
Running back James Cook set a new career high with 216 yards, accomplishing it on just 19 carries. His long on the day was a 64-yard touchdown midway through the second quarter that put his team up 12-3. Cook then put in a 21-yard touchdown midway through the third quarter to make the score 33-3.
Cook had seven runs of at least 10 yards during the contest, illustrating the dominance of the ground attack. As noted on the Fox broadcast, Cook’s 216 yards were the most by a Bills running back since O.J. Simpson in 1976.
Buffalo finished the contest with 245 rushing yards, surpassing their previous high of 224 against the Jets in Week 2.
Quarterback Josh Allen didn’t need to do much in the passing game, finishing the contest 12-of-19 for 163 yards with a touchdown before Mitchell Trubisky came in for mop-up work. But Allen also had 7 yards on three carries with two TDs. It’s Allen’s 46th game with a passing and a rushing touchdown, pushing him past Cam Newton for the most in NFL history.
Khalil Shakir took a pass than went 4 yards in front of the line of scrimmage and made it 54 yards down the field for a 54-yard touchdown, exemplifying Carolina’s poor tackling on the day.
Starting for the injured Bryce Young, backup QB Andy Dalton played poorly all game. He finished 16-of-24 for 175 yards with an interception and two lost fumbles. He also took an unacceptable sack at the end of the first half that made a field goal attempt much more rushed than it should’ve been, as the Panthers had no timeouts. Ryan Fitzgerald missed the 32-yard attempt to keep the score at 19-3, Buffalo, at the break.
While Chuba Hubbard still started at running back, Rico Dowdle was much more productive at the position. Dowdle had 54 yards on eight carries while Hubbard had 12 for 34 yards.
The Bills lost defensive tackle Ed Oliver to a biceps injury, as he was ruled out in the first half.
The Panthers had several injury concerns, with linebacker Trevin Wallace exiting midway through the third quarter for a concussion evaluation. He was subsequently ruled out. Right tackle Taylor Moton was ruled out with a knee injury. Carolina also lost right guard Brady Christensen when he went down early in the fourth quarter and defensive tackle Derrick Brown was examined on the sideline midway through the fourth quarter.
With the win, the Bills are 5-2 and are now set up for a big showdown at home against the Chiefs in Week 9.
The Panthers fall to 4-4 and will be on the road to face the Packers next Sunday.
