Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills didn’t have as convincing of a win against the Carolina Panthers as the score may indicate, yet they found a way to remain as one of the three wild card teams in the AFC — as the standings sit at the conclusion of Sunday’s 1 p.m.
The victory moves Buffalo to within one game of the New England Patriots for the AFC East lead, with a showdown next Sunday in Foxborough.
Carolina didn’t have a kicker in this one as Zane Gonzalez injured his quad in pregame warmups, leaving the Panthers without a viable option to kick field goals — which is why the Panthers had just a 20% conversion rate on fourth downs.
Stefon Diggs had an 11-yard touchdown catch in the first half, his eighth touchdown reception of the year.
Gabe Davis had two big touchdown catches that paced Buffalo’s passing game in the second half, including the 20-yard score that put Buffalo up 24-8 — a lead that was too much for Carolina to overcome.
Not having a field goal kicker didn’t help put points on the board either, as Carolina went just 1 for 5 on fourth down — all four times past midfield.
The adversity was just too much to overcome, especially with Newton’s accuracy issues plaguing him since his return to Carolina.
The Panthers had to give up plenty of points without a field goal kicker available, going for it on fourth down several times.
Instead, Carolina went for it and Cam Newton missed an open Willie Snead that would have went for the first down.
Allen had an interception that led to a Panthers touchdown in the first half and had a fumble earlier in the game that could have been disastrous .