Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills soundly defeated the Carolina Panthers 40-9 on Sunday afternoon. This was a much-needed win for the team, as it had dropped back-to-back games in Weeks 5 and 6 and fell behind the New England Patriots in the AFC East division race.
Head coach Sean McDermott now sports a 9-0 record when coming off a bye. Additionally, quarterback Josh Allen continues to break records, as he surpassed Cam Newton for the most games with one or more passing touchdowns and one or more rushing touchdowns. It is fitting that Allen happened to break the record while playing in Carolina.
The Week 8 injury report highlighted a few starters sidelined for the Bills, with wide receiver Joshua Palmer, defensive tackle DaQuan Jones, and linebacker Matt Milano all ruled out ahead of kickoff. However, the team finally welcomed both defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and defensive end Michael Hoecht to the fray, as each had served a six-game suspension for PEDs.
O.Torrence G 63 100%
S.Brown T 63 100%
D.Dawkins T 52 83%
D.Edwards G 52 83%
C.McGovern G 52 83%
J.Allen QB 52 83%
K.Coleman WR 46 73%
J.Hawes TE 35 56%
K.Shakir WR 30 48%
E.Moore WR 29 46%
J.Cook RB 28 44%
D.Knox TE 27 43%
R.Gilliam FB 26 41%
T.Shavers WR 25 40%
Ty.Johnson RB 20 32%
C.Samuel WR 19 30%
R.Davis RB 15 24%
D.Kincaid TE 14 22%
A.Anderson T 12 19%
R.Van Demark T 11 17%
S.Van Pran-Granger C/G 11 17%
M.Trubisky QB 11 17%
While the Bills won by 31 points, the offense still left plenty of points on the table. It’s always a good sign to see Allen (83%) sitting on the sidelines late in the fourth quarter while backup Mitch Trubisky (17%) finishes the game. However, something is off with the reigning MVP, and it’s hard to pinpoint what the primary issue is. Is it the lack of separation? Did the coaching staff break Allen and his superhero tendencies? I don’t know, but he completed just 12 passes for 163 yards and a touchdown. It was a clean game, but 116 of his 163 yards came after the catch, and he missed numerous easy throws.
Allen completed 12 passes; however, because he only recorded 19 pass attempts, thanks to dominance from running back James Cook (44%), who posted a career-best game. Who cares about the “everybody eats” mentality when Buffalo can just let James Cook? The 26-year-old totaled 19 carries for a whopping 216 yards and two touchdowns, with 153 coming in the first half. Those 153 yards in a half were the most by a running back since his brother, Dalvin Cook, did it in 2021. Cook’s 216 yards were almost the most by any running back in a single game this season. It’s truly unreal that Cook did all of this while logging just 28 total snaps, too, as both Ty Johnson (32%) and Ray Davis (24%) received extra snaps...
