Bills vs. Panthers score: Josh Allen throws three touchdowns as Buffalo gains ground in AFC East race

Allen and the Bills held off the Panthers

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. ET games -- with a 31-14 victory. Allen finished 19 of 34 for 210 yards with three touchdowns and an interception. It was a win which was carried by a Bills defense that held the Panthers to go just 1 of 5 on fourth down. 

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. Gabriel Davis had two touchdown receptions for Buffalo, the final one coming with 2:14 left on a 14-yard pass from Allen to seal the win. Davis led the Bills with five catches for 85 yards and two scores. He now has six touchdowns on the season. 

Cam Newton became the first quarterback in NFL history with 75 career rushing touchdowns after scoring on a four-yard run in the first half to cut Buffalo's lead to 14-8. Newton led the Panthers in rushing yards (71), but completed just 18 of 39 passes for 156 yards with a touchdown and an interception (which came when the game was out of hand late in the fourth quarter). 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. Diggs clinched his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season (his second with the Bills). He's just the second receiver with back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in Bills history.

Here are the takeaways from this one -- a recap of the game can be found in our live blog below. 

Why the Bills won

The Bills didn't get off to the best start, but found a way to take care of business in the second half. 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. Davis had both his touchdown catches on third and fourth down, which gave Buffalo 14 points when it needed it most. The fourth down touchdown catch was the dagger for Carolina, putting the Bills up 31-14 with 2:12 remaining. 

Buffalo's defense also had four sacks and stopped Carolina four times on fourth down past midfield. That kept the Panthers' offense at bay. 

Why the Panthers lost

Carolina's offensive line didn't do much to protect Cam Newton, allowing four sacks and six quarterback hits as Newton was pressured throughout the game. The Panthers were able to control the ground game by rushing for 151 yards and averaging 5.2 yards per carry -- yet could only put up 14 points. 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 don't have a good offensive line, which led to Carolina going just 7 of 17 on third down. Situational football was not good for the Panthers. 

Turning point

The Panthers had to give up plenty of points without a field goal kicker available, going for it on fourth down several times. A promising first drive resulted in a fourth-and-9 from the 24-yard line, where Carolina would have probably kicked a 41-yard field goal and took a 3-0 lead. 

Instead, Carolina went for it and Cam Newton missed an open Willie Snead that would have went for the first down. Newton's accuracy issues throughout the game didn't help the Panthers, but taking a 3-0 lead on the road would have been a nice spot as the Bills got off to a slow start. 

Perhaps the outcome would've been different if Zane Gonzalez didn't injure his quad. 

Play of the game

Josh Allen's touchdown to Gabe Davis in the third quarter was his most impressive throw of the day -- one that will surely be on the highlight reel of great throws throughout his career. 

Allen had plenty of time on third-and-12 to fire a dart to Davis in the back of the end zone to give the Bills a 24-8 lead with 5:52 left in the third quarter. The Bills quarterback threw the ball past two Panthers' defensive backs to Davis -- beating Rashaan Melvin for the score. 

This was the first of two touchdown catches for Davis on the day. He's quietly becoming the wide receiver No. 2 for the Bills in the stretch run. 

The quote

"Have to clean up the ball security on my end. That's one thing I can control, but we're going to have to play great situational football going forward. I think we did that tonight." -- Josh Allen to Fox Sports' Lindsay Czarniak after the win. 

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 (was recovered by the Bills). The Bills quarterback has thrown 12 interceptions and has eight fumbles -- part of why the Bills have been inconsistent on offense in 2021. An easy part of Allen's game he can fix. 

Up next

The Bills (8-6) head to Foxborough to take on the New England Patriots for first place in the AFC East next Sunday. The Panthers (5-9) host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16 (also next Sunday).  

[Dec 19, 2021 at 4:17 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

That's a wrap in Buffalo. Josh Allen and the Bills win ugly, but they get the win and cut into the Patriots AFC East lead. No kicker for the Panthers makes a difference in this one. Bills are 8-6 and Panthers fall to 5-9. 

[Dec 19, 2021 at 3:56 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

Fourth sack of the day for the Bills. Obada finishes off Newton -- who had no time to throw on that 4th-and-10 throw. The Bills seem to have this game now with 6:11 left. 

[Dec 19, 2021 at 3:53 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

Hasn't been the best of days for Cam Newton throwing the ball -- but he doesn't have a turnover and has rushed for 72 yards and a score. Much better than previous weeks. 

[Dec 19, 2021 at 3:47 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

Going 3-and-out isn't ideal for Buffalo there. The Panthers offense is starting to find a rhythm. 

[Dec 19, 2021 at 3:42 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

Ameer Abdullah gets a 23-yard catch for the score from Cam Newton -- Christian McCaffrey like. The panther shave to go for two, but Cam Newton was stopped. It's still a two-score game.

Let's see if the Bills can put this one away by running the ball. 

[Dec 19, 2021 at 3:32 pm ET · Jeff Kerr]

Carolina didn't get it. That's six points left without a FG kicker. Could be 24-13 right now (assuming Panthers kick the extra point if they had a kicker). Panthers still would have been down two scores, but the deficit would be much closer.