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The Buffalo Bills got their groove back against the Carolina Panthers in a 40-9 win, with Josh Allen and James Cook leading the way for Sean McDermott's team.
Avoiding a dreaded three-game losing streak, the Bills clicked into gear in the second half after leading 19-3 at halftime to score 21 points in the third quarter, with Cook and his 216 rushing yards and Khalil Shakir's 88 receiving yards the key factors in Buffalo's win.
Having won in different ways this season, it can be hard to get a read on exactly what the identity of McDermott's team is. Are they a run-first team, a Josh Allen-led unit? Or a defensive team that helps the offense?
For Cook, Buffalo's identity is whatever it wants it to be.
“Be whatever we want to be,” Cook said. “Just on us, we just got to keep that edge and keep working hard. Go back to work on Monday, a big one, and get to work.”
More: Bills' James Cook gives incredible gut-punch to Panthers defense after win
Bills' 'identity' to be tested vs. Chiefs
The Week 9 contest at Highmark Stadium will be Buffalo's biggest test of 2025 -- facing their bogey team, the Kansas City Chiefs.
In what is an odd twist, the Bills have had the wood over Patrick Mahomes and Co. in the regular season, but in the playoffs? The Chiefs have won the last four times when it has been for all the marbles, so while many will look at this as a measuring-stick game, what really matters is what happens in the playoffs.
But getting a win here would move the Bills to 6-2, and they would own the tie-breaker over Kansas City, which, come playoff seeding, could be the difference between facing the Chiefs at Arrowhead Stadium or Highmark.
Buffalo needs this win, and establishing its identity — whatever that is — will be key to slaying its bogey team.
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