ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five takeaways from the Buffalo Bills’ 31-14 victory Sunday against the Carolina Panthers at Highmark Stadium:
1. This wasn’t any sort of a statement victory.
The outcome said almost nothing of substance beyond this: The Bills usually get the better of inferior opponents.
Sure, they found ways to make the game at least semi-competitive in the first half and allowed the Panthers to hang around and make it 24-14 early in the fourth quarter after building a 24-8 lead in the third.
The Bills were more than a little wobbly at times on offense and defense, though it’s fair to say they played down to the level of the Panthers and probably were lulled into the mind-numbing boredom that the game’s sluggish pace created.
Ultimately, the Bills did what they were fully expected to do and come away with their eighth victory.
2. Josh Allen’s ankle sprain from a week ago didn’t seem to pose any issues.
“It felt good, it didn’t affect me,” he said.
He had the Bills' longest carry of the day, 26 yards, on his only rushing attempt, which came in the third quarter.
Allen wasn’t all that sharp with his passing. He connected on 19 of 34 attempts for 210 yards and three touchdowns (two to Gabriel Davis), while throwing an interception. He finished with a passer rating of 91.5. Allen often misfired, putting the ball too high or wide. It could very well have been a case of his not getting enough work in practice with his being listed as limited on Wednesday and Thursday.
Offensive coordinator Brian Daboll did make a decent effort to ease the load on Allen by having Devin Singletary ran 22 times for a season-high 86 yards and a touchdown.
“As we got going through the game, I thought our offense got stronger,” Allen said.
3. The Bills’ offensive line felt the effects of missing two starters, tackle Dion Dawkins and guard Jon Feliciano, to the reserve/COVID-19 list.
Rookie Spencer Brown, who started for Dawkins left tackle, had an exceptionally rough day. He was penalized five times (with four enforced) and generally looked overwhelmed by the Panthers’ strong pass rush, which sacked Allen four times.
The line’s struggles also contributed to the offense looking out of sync for stretches, though Allen made a point of giving a “shoutout” to the line for overcoming the changes caused by the absences of Dawkins and Feliciano.
4. The defense did a solid job against the Panthers’ poor offense.
Quarterback Cam Newton continues to be a shell of his former MVP self. He threw for 156 yards and a TD, with one interception, and finished with a passer rating of 55.1. The Bills sacked him four times.
Newton was the Panthers’ rushing attack, carrying 15 times for 71 yards and a score. Of course, Carolina’s offense was hampered by the fact placekicker Zane Gonzalez suffered a leg injury during pregame warmups and didn’t play. That forced the Panthers to go for two-point conversions (succeeding only on the first) after both of their TDs.
5. We all know what’s next: Game of the Year II.
Sunday’s game might not have told us much, but next Sunday’s showdown against the New England Patriots at Foxborough, Mass., will reveal perhaps all we need to know about both teams.
“We all know who we have next week,” Allen said. “It’s no secret.”
Still, safeties Micah Hyde and Jordan Poyer seemed to try to treat it as a secret by not answering any questions about the Patriots, offering only nods when jokingly asked if they knew they were the opponent next week.
The sting of that ugly 14-10 Monday night hasn’t gone away. The Pats succeeded in embarrassing the Bills with a way-out-of-the-box game plan that took the ball out of the hands of rookie quarterback Mac Jones and relied solely on a rushing attack Buffalo couldn’t stop.
New England’s defense did the rest, setting the stage of a rematch that will have a huge say in whether the Bills can win a second consecutive AFC East championship. The Patriots helped to at least put the Bills in the passing lane by losing to Indianapolis Saturday night.
Of course, the ultra-crowded AFC playoff picture will also require the Bills to win no fewer than two of their remaining three games … if not all of them.