The Bills desperately needed a win. They got it and it came with a fairly stress free performance. The defense had a terrific day and James Cook had a career best one. That helped the Bills snap a two game skid, improve to 9-0 after the bye under Sean McDermott, and keep pace with AFC East leader New England who trounced Cleveland.
On a day when the Bills scored 40 points you might find it hard to believe results were mixed from the offense. Cook and the Bills ground game were dominant but once again the passing attack just didn't look right.
Cook, who has taken his game to a higher level this season, was unstoppable. The offensive line opened up holes, the wide receivers and tight ends helped out with their blocking on toss plays but Cook was the difference maker. He either exploded through the holes or used cutback moves to get to those openings. Other times he used his speed to beat Carolina defenders to the edge.
Cook had a great game in just the first half. Cook had 12 carries for 153 yards including a 64 yard touchdown run. The 153 yards were the most by a Bills running back in a half since a guy by the name of Thurman Thomas in 1992. Cook, along with many starters on offense, only played three quarters because the game had been decided.
Cook finished with a career high 216 yards on 19 carries which is an unbelievable 11.4 yards per carry. He had seven runs of 10+ yards on the day. The 216 yards are the most by a Bills back since O.J. Simpson in 1976.
Its a good thing Cook was running wild because the passing game looked awful at times. Once again their completions were limited to short throws and then it was a matter of how many yards after the catch the Bills could produce. In the first half, Josh Allen was just 6-13 for 66 yards.
As has been the case too many times this season, Allen would have to scramble around to extend plays in hopes his targets would get open. More often than not, they did not. Allen had some bad moments as well. On one play Elijah Moore was wide open around the Carolina 45 yard line for a big gain and Allen missed him badly. Allen was 12-19 for 163 yards and one touchdown. It was a season long 54 yard pass play to Khalil Shakir. But let the record show that 50 of those 54 yards came after the catch. The Bills seemingly have lost the ability to strike fear in their opponents through the air.
The defense had a field day against Panthers backup quarterback Andy Dalton who got the start because Bryce Young was injured. The defense recorded season highs in takeaways with three and sacks with seven. Seven different Bills had at least a half sack including Michel Hoecht who made his Bills debut and came up with 1.5 sacks and a forced fumble. Greg Rousseau had a key forced fumble that stopped a Panthers drive deep into Bills territory. AJ Epenesa had an important interception late in the first half that gave the Bills a drive start at the Carolina one yard line. An Allen TD made it 19-3 at the half and the game was pretty much over.
The Bills run defense, which has been a big problem this season, held Carolina to just 4.1 yards per carry. Bills opponents had averaged 5.1 yards a carry over the first six games. Third down has also been a trouble spot but the Panthers converted only 36% of the time (4-11).
This game also marked the debut of first round pick Maxwell Hairston who got a handful of series at cornerback two in a rotation with Tre White. Hairston's most notable play was a good one on one open field tackle on a lateral to Jimmy Horn that was part of a three and out in the second quarter.
The only bad news in the game, and it could be REALLY bad news, was an injury to defensive tackle Ed Oliver. He suffered a biceps injury in the first half and was quickly ruled out for the rest of the game. The Bills are already thin at the tackle spots with Daquan Jones and T.J. Sanders nursing injuries. An extended absence for Oliver might force General Manager Brandon Beane to look at the trade market by the November 4th deadline.
Bills notes:
* Allen is now tied for the most rushing touchdowns by a QB in NFL history. He has 77 along with Cam Newton.
* Allen passed Newton for first all time with his 46th game with a touchdown both passing and rushing.
* The 40 points scored is the second most this season to the 41 in week one against Baltimore.
* The 31 point margin of victory is the largest since week three of last season when they beat Jacksonville by 37.
* The Bills are now 5-2 and remain a half game behind New England. The Patriots will host Atlanta in week nine while the Bills will welcome Kansas City to Highmark Stadium.