The Buffalo Bills (5-2) returned to their winning ways with a dominant 40-9 victory over the Carolina Panthers (4-4). The victory keeps the Bills a half game behind the New England Patriots in the AFC East standings.

The offense took a little bit of time to get rolling. Buffalo (5-2) saw multiple drives stall out early, ending with Matt Prater field goals.

However, the Bills emphasis on the ground game paid off. James Cook broke out with a career-best 216 rushing yards on 19 carries.

And while Josh Allen didn’t have a massive game through the air, he did contribute two rushing touchdowns to the Bills ledger. Allen went 12-of-19 for 163 passing yards and a passing touchdown to add to his rushing scores.

Buffalo’s defense had a standout game. They put up a season-best seven sacks. They also forced three turnovers: two Andy Dalton fumbles from the Panthers (4-4) QB and an interception. The Bills defense allowed only 244 total yards to the Panthers.

Here is the Bills Wire’s report card for the Bills’ win over the Panthers:

Pass offense: B

Buffalo did not rely on their aerial attack to move the ball against the Panthers. Between Allen and Mitchell Trubisky, the duo attempted only 23 passes. Still, it was efficient enough to keep the offense moving forward.

Khalil Shakir led the way for Buffalo’s receivers with six receptions for 88 yards and the lone receiving touchdown on the day. Shakir had a spectacular 54-yard touchdown reception, one where he took a short pass, broke a tackle, and outran several Panther defenders.

The Bills didn’t have to rely on the passing game to make big plays. Offensive coordinator Joe Brady used the passing game as a complement to James Cook’s breakout game.

Rushing offense: A+

It was apparent that the Bills wanted to get James Cook involved in this game, and they did so early and often. Cook’s career day included multiple big runs. Overall, his 216 yards on the ground are a season-best in the NFL thus far this season. Both of his touchdowns will be found on highlight reels this week.

Josh Allen scored two one-yard touchdowns on the ground. Once the Bills found themselves at the doorstep of the end zones, they did not mess around.

If there’s one thing to be picky about, it’s that there were limited yards gained by backups Ty Johnson and Ray Davis. Davis ran nine times for 16 yards, while Johnson totaled six yards on four carries. We hope to see more out of them in the future, but we’re not going to make this a major point in a 31-point victory.

Rush defense: A-

Ahead of the game, there were concerns about whether the Bills could handle the Panthers’ rushing attack. Rico Dowdle has recently exploded for Carolina, and lead back Chuba Hubbard is working back from an injury.

In the end, Hubbard was largely a non-factor, gaining only 34 yards on 12 carries. He plowed in for Carolina’s only touchdown, but outside of that, he did not put much pressure on the Bills defense. Dowdle had a little more success, rushing eight times for 54 yards. Still, Dowdle’s success mostly occurred with the game well in hand, so the 6.8-yard-per-carry average doesn’t put as much worry in the Buffalo’s stat line.

Pass defense: A-

Buffalo’s defensive line was a menace this week. They easily controlled an overmatched Andy Dalton. The Bills sacked Dalton seven times, with Michael Hoecht leading the way with a sack-and-a-half.

The defensive line looked reenergized with Hoecht and Larry Ogunjobi in the fold.

AJ Epenesa had a spectacular game, recording a sack and making a stellar interception that almost resulted in a pick-six.

Max Hairston saw his first NFL game action. It’s a good prelude for him leading into the game against the Chiefs next week.

Dalton went 16-of-24 for 175 yards and the Epenesa pick. Dalton’s QBR was only 4.2 in the afternoon.

Special teams: B+

It was a solid day for the unit. Outside of a Matt Prater missed PAT, nothing really went poorly. It just wasn’t a super exciting day for the special teams unit.

Prater made two field goals. and four-of-five PATs.

Buffalo averaged 22 yards per kick return, but only 4.7 yards on three punt returns.

Matt Wishnowsky had a nice afternoon when called upon, averaging 48.7 yards per punt.