James Cook rushed for 216 yards and two touchdowns as the Buffalo Bills won for the first time in nearly a month as they rolled past the Carolina Panthers 40-9 on Sunday afternoon in Charlotte.
Josh Allen threw for a touchdown and ran for two more as the Bills (5-2) never trailed and improved to 9-0 when coming off an open date since 2017.
Carolina (4-4) had a three-game winning streak snapped as quarterback Andy Dalton made his first start of the season in place of injured Bryce Young. Dalton, who completed 16 of 24 passes for 175 yards, lost two fumbles and was intercepted once.
Panthers running back Rico Dowdle had 52 rushing yards on seven first-half carries but had only one second-half rushing attempt.
The Bills lost back-to-back games before an open date last weekend. Their first six points Sunday came on a pair of Matt Prater field goals on drives that each consumed more than 5 1/2 minutes.
They were even more efficient the rest of the way, with no other scoring drive lasting more than 5:12.
Cook’s yards came on 19 carries, with a long of 64 yards for the game’s first touchdown that pushed the Bills to a 12-3 lead in the second quarter. He added a 21-yard scoring run in the third quarter.
Allen completed 12 of 19 passes for 163 passing yards. Khalil Shakir had six receptions for 88 yards, including a 54-yard reception for a touchdown in the third quarter.
Allen’s rushing touchdowns both came from 1 yard out, with the first of those coming after AJ Epenesa’s interception and 23-yard return to the Panthers’ 1-yard line.
Carolina trailed 40-3 before scoring a fourth-quarter touchdown on Chuba Hubbard’s 3-yard run.
The Panthers, who won their first three home games this season, committed two turnovers in the first half and saw kicker Ryan Fitzgerald miss a 32-yard attempt just before halftime. Fitzgerald made a 48-yard kick in the second quarter.
