Bills overpower Panthers after sluggish start

They were forced to adjust to absence of two starting offensive linemen.

Instead of getting starting left tackle Dion Dawkins back like they hoped before their game Sunday against the Carolina Panthers, the Buffalo Bills instead saw left guard Jon Feliciano join Dawkins on the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

This contributed to a sluggish start as the Bills' makeshift offensive line struggled throughout the first quarter.

But in the end, they proved to be too much for the Panthers in a 31-14 victory that solidified their playoff chances, which had taken a hit after two straight losses saw them lose control of the AFC East to the New England Patriots.

Now the Bills (8-6) will have a chance to pull even with the Patriots (9-5) again in their rematch next week in Foxboro, Mass.

Though they barely moved the ball in the first quarter, which saw quarterback Josh Allen take two sacks, the Bills never trailed, breaking the scoreless tie when Devin Singletary scored on a 16-yard run in the second quarter.

They doubled their lead when Allen finished off a 57-yard drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Stefon Diggs.

The Panthers took advantage of an interception by Jeremy Chinn to close the gap as quarterback Cam Newton scored on a 4-yard keeper to finish off a 37-yard drive.

After the score, they had little choice but to go for two points because they had lost kicker Zane Gonzalez to a quad injury in pregame warmups. The conversion was successful when Newton hit D.J. Moore with a pass in the back of the end zone.

But that was as close as the Panthers would come.

The Bills added a 26-yard field goal by Tyler Bass just before intermission, sending them well on their way to their eighth win that was punctuated by a 20-yard touchdown reception by Gabriel Davis in the third quarter. The throw by Allen was a perfect fastball into a tight window that would have closed on a ball thrown with any less velocity.

Their leading rusher the week before in an overtime loss at Tampa Bay, Allen attempted just one run on his sprained foot in this contest. But he turned the improvised scramble into a 26-yard gain.

He finished with 19 completions in 34 attempts for 210 yards and three touchdown passes against the one interception.

Nick Fierro is the publisher of Bills Central. Check out the latest Bills news at www.si.com/nfl/bills and follow Fierro on Twitter at @NickFierro. Email to Nicky300@aol.com.