NFL Week 8: James Cook runs for 216 yards, 2 TDs, Allen accounts for 3 TDs as Bills rout Panther
CHARLOTTE, N.C. — James Cook ran for a career-high 216 yards and two touchdowns, Josh Allen accounted for three scores and the Buffalo Bills returned from their bye with a resounding 40-9 win over the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.
Allen improved to 8-0 following the idle week and established an NFL record by becoming the first player to run and throw for a touchdown in 46 games, breaking the mark previously held by former Panthers QB Cam Newton.
Allen’s 77 career rushing touchdowns (including playoff games) tied Newton for the most all-time.
Allen finished 12 of 19 for 163 yards for the Bills (5-2), including a 54-yard toss to Khalil Shakir, and ran for two short touchdowns.
Cook had touchdown runs of 64 and 21 yards, becoming the third Bills running back to run for 200 yards and two touchdowns, joining Cookie Gilchrist and O.J. Simpson. Cook, who didn’t play in the fourth quarter, did it against a defense that had allowed just 131 yards on the ground over the past three weeks.
JAMES COOK 64-YARD TD!
BUFvsCAR on FOX/FOX Onehttps://t.co/HkKw7uXVnt pic.twitter.com/P1SqPU9cMv
— NFL (@NFL) October 26, 2025
Buffalo’s defense sacked Andy Dalton seven times and forced the veteran quarterback into three turnovers to open a 40-3 lead in the third quarter. Dalton, who got the start for the injured Bryce Young, finished 16 of 24 for 175 yards with two fumbles and one interception as the Panthers’ three-game winning streak came to a screeching halt.
Buffalo built a 19-3 halftime lead behind a career-high 153 yards rushing from Cook — the most in the first half by a running back since his brother Dalvin Cook ran for 153 in 2021 — and three huge mistakes by Dalton.
Dalton’s first miscue came with the Panthers deep in Buffalo territory when he to scramble and was stripped from behind by Greg Rousseau, resulting in Christian Benford’s recovery.
The Bills turned that into Matt Prater’s field goal.
A short while later Dalton threw a ill-advised screen pass directly into the arms of Bills defensive end A.J. Espenesa, who returned it to Carolina 1, setting up a QB sneak for a score by Allen.
With the Panthers (4-4) threatening to score a touchdown in the waning seconds of the first half, Dalton took a sack on third down. Without any timeouts, the Panthers rushed their field goal unit on to the field but kicker Ryan Fitzgerald wasn’t able to convert a rushed kick from 32 yards and the Panthers went into the locker room down by 16.
The Bills extended the lead to 26-3 when Khalil Shakir turned a short pass from Allen into a 54-yard TD. Khalil finished with six catches for 88 yards.
Dalton had another fumble that led to Allen’s second touchdown run of the game and fell to 1-6 as a starter for the Panthers over the past three seasons.
Texans 26, 49ers 16
HOUSTON — C.J. Stroud threw for a season-high 318 yards with two touchdowns and the Houston Texans got off to a quick start and held on for a 26-15 victory over the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday.
Stroud did a great job of distributing the ball, completing passes to nine different players with star receiver Nico Collins out after sustaining a concussion Monday night. Xavier Hutchinson led the group with 69 yards receiving and a score and rookie Jaylin Noel added 63 to help the Texans (3-4) bounce back after a loss to Seattle.
Hutchinson’s 30-yard touchdown grab extended Houston’s lead to 23-7 with about 7 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.
A 2-yard touchdown reception by Jake Tonges and Demarcus Robinson’s 2-point conversion grab cut the lead to 23-15 late in the third quarter. Jauan Jennings made a 25-yard grab a play before the touchdown to set up the score.
Houston added a field goal after that, and the 49ers were driving late when Kamari Lassiter intercepted Mac Jones just outside of the end zone with a little under two minutes left to seal the victory.
Jones had trouble getting the offense going, and the 49ers (5-3) trailed by 16 before they gained a first down late in the second quarter. He threw for 193 yards and two touchdowns in his fourth straight game and sixth this season filling in for the injured Brock Purdy.
The Texans held Christian McCaffrey in check. He had just 25 yards rushing and 43 receiving after piling up 201 yards of offense and two scores in last week’s 20-10 win over Atlanta.
Rookie Woody Marks helped Houston to the win with 62 yards rushing and four receptions for 49 yards.
The Texans led by six in the second quarter when Jayden Higgins grabbed a 12-yard TD reception to make it 13-0. Noel had a 44-yard reception earlier in that drive to get Houston into scoring position. Stroud connected with Marks on a 50-yard throw earlier in the half to give the Texans two plays of 40-plus yards on Sunday after they had just two in the first six games combined.
Ka’imi Fairbairn’s third field goal pushed the lead to 16-0 with about a minute left in the first half.
After punting on their first three possessions, the Niners finally got their offense going and cut the lead to 16-7 when George Kittle grabbed a 17-yard touchdown reception near the end of the first half.
The 49ers ended an NFL record of 14 straight games without an interception, covering 469 consecutive passes, when Deommodore Lenoir intercepted Stroud on the last play of the first half.
Eagles 38, Giants 20
PHILADELPHIA — Saquon Barkley ran for a 65-yard score on his first carry of the game and topped 100 yards rushing for the first time this season before he left with a groin injury, and Jalen Hurts threw four touchdown passes as the Philadelphia Eagles beat the New York Giants 38-20 on Sunday.
The Eagles (6-2) evened the season series against their NFC East rivals after the Giants won 34-17 earlier this month.
Barkley also ripped off a 28-yard run on the final play of the third quarter but shook his head as he ran gingerly back to the sideline. He was checked out inside the medical tent, and later grabbed his helmet and jumped in celebration when backup Tank Bigsby ran for a 29-yard gain.
Hurts, who completed 15 of 20 passes for 179 yards, put the game away with a 17-yard touchdown pass to Dallas Goedert to finish that drive and make it 31-13. Barkley did not return to the game, finishing with 150 yards on 14 carries and four catches for 24 yards and a touchdown.
Hurts’ fourth TD pass of the game was a 40-yard strike to Jahan Dotson.
Barkley’s initial carry gave him more yards than he had in all but one game this season. He had just 44 yards last week against Minnesota and rushed for a low of 30 against Denver, a precipitous drop a season after he rushed for more than 2,500 total yards for the Super Bowl champions.
Barkley’s early breakout was another sign the Eagles’ offense has found a groove after a sluggish start to the season. In a win at Minnesota last week, Hurts threw for more than 300 yards and receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith had big games. The Eagles ran for 277 yards on Sunday, the final piece they needed under first-year offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo to feel like they’re on the right path toward a repeat championship run.
Hurts connected with Barkley for a 9-yard TD and threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Goedert that sent the Eagles into halftime with a 21-10 lead. Goedert made his career-high sixth TD catch of the season.
Jaxson Dart failed to duplicate his masterful first effort against the Eagles and threw for 193 yards and a touchdown for the Giants (2-6). With New York trailing 24-10 late in the third, Dart was sacked by Jalyx Hunt and the Giants settled for Graham Gano’s 34-yard field goal.
The Giants’ run at their first season sweep of the Eagles since 2007 and first win at Philadelphia since 2013 suffered a serious blow when rookie Cam Skattebo suffered a dislocated right ankle and was taken to a hospital for further evaluation.
Skattebo was carted off the field after he took a hard hit over the middle and went down. His foot appeared to twist backward, and players from both teams huddled around the standout running back until he was taken off the field.
Dolphins 34, Falcons 10
ATLANTA — Tua Tagovailoa threw a season-high four touchdown passes and the Miami Dolphins ended their three-game losing streak by dominating the short-handed Atlanta Falcons 34-10 on Sunday.
The Dolphins (2-6) outgained the Falcons (3-4) 338-213. Tagovailoa, who threw three interceptions in each of his last two games, was added to the injury report before the game with an illness but showed no signs of being limited.
“Tua is not one to be rattled easily,” Miami wide receiver Jaylen Waddle said. “He’s extremely confident and we’re extremely confident in him.”
Tagovailoa completed 20 of 26 passes for 205 yards with scoring passes to Waddle, De’Von Achane, Malik Washington and Ollie Gordon II. It was especially impressive after he woke up with an eye swollen shut, putting his status for the game in question.
“Probably one of the worst experiences I’ve had in terms of waking up and having that on a game day,” Tagovailoa said, adding the team’s medical staff addressed the issue with antibiotics and he wore a visor on his helmet for more protection.
“It was different,” Tagovailoa said. “I can’t remember the last time I played with a visor outside of high school.”
The Falcons were without quarterback Michael Penix Jr., top wide receiver Drake London and sacks leader Zach Harrison, among others, due to injuries.
Atlanta veteran quarterback Kirk Cousins made his first start since a Dec. 16, 2024, win at Las Vegas. Cousins, who appeared in only one game this season in a backup role, couldn’t rescue the offense against a Miami defense determined to contain running back Bijan Robinson.
The Dolphins kept the Falcons out of the end zone until Tyler Allgeier’s 6-yard scoring run with 5:01 remaining.
“I mean, they went out and smashed us today,” Falcons coach Raheem Morris said. “They had a beat on what we’re doing defensively. Had a beat on what we were doing on special teams. They did a nice job today. We did not.”
Penix was held out with a bone bruise on his left knee after being listed as questionable. Cousins completed 21 of 31 passes for 173 yards with no touchdowns and no interceptions.
Broncos 44, Cowboys 24
DENVER — Bo Nix threw for four touchdowns, rookie R.J. Harvey scored three times and the Denver Broncos routed the Dallas Cowboys 44-24 on Sunday for their fifth consecutive victory.
J.K. Dobbins ran for 111 yards on 15 carries and the Broncos (6-2) also got big performances from rookies Pat Bryant and Jahdae Barron as they extended the NFL’s longest home winning streak to nine games.
Bryant scored his first touchdown and Barron picked off Dak Prescott for his first career interception.
Despite two TD runs from former Denver running back Javonte Williams, the Cowboys (3-4-1) lost for the eighth straight time to the Broncos, whom they haven’t beaten since the heyday of Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin in 1995.
The Broncos, who lost star cornerback Pat Surtain II to a shoulder injury just before halftime, won the toss and chose to receive, a decision that backfired when Nix threw right at cornerback Trikweze Bridges, whose interception set up Brandon Aubrey’s short field goal.
Excluding a kneel-down at halftime, the Broncos scored on seven of their next eight possessions.
Nix led Denver on four TD drives for a 27-10 halftime lead, and his second TD toss to Troy Franklin made it 37-17. His 5-yarder to Harvey made it 44-17.
Harvey took a pitch from Nix and went 40 yards for Denver’s first touchdown. Then, Nix found Franklin for a 25-yard score that gave Denver a 14-3 lead.
After Williams knifed in from a yard out to pull Dallas to 14-10, Harvey took a direct snap and scored from a yard out. Nix followed that with a 24-yard, over-the-shoulder strike to Bryant for a 27-10 halftime advantage.
It looked as though Aubrey was going to get a shot at a long field goal, maybe even a record-breaker before Prescott was picked off by Barron with 12 seconds left in the first half.
Williams’ second 1-yard TD run pulled Dallas within 27-17 in the third quarter.
Nix was 19 of 29 for 247 yards with the four TDs and one interception. Prescott was 19 of 31 for 188 yards and was intercepted twice.
Including their 33-point fourth quarter last week to stun the Giants, the Broncos have outscored their opponents 77-37 over their last five quarters.
Buccaneers 23, Saints 0
NEW ORLEANS — Tampa Bay edge rusher Anthony Nelson had an interception for a touchdown to go with a forced fumble and two sacks, Sean Tucker ran for a 1-yard score on fourth down and the Buccaneers beat the hapless New Orleans Saints 23-3 on Sunday.
Antoine Winfield Jr. recovered a fumble and intercepted a pass for the Buccaneers (6-2), who forced four turnovers and also played a role in forcing Saints second-year quarterback Spencer Rattler out of the game.
First-year Saints coach Kellen Moore inserted rookie QB Tyler Shough late in the third quarter, but the switch did little to improve matters for New Orleans (1-7), now tied for the worst record in the NFL with the New York Jets and Tennessee.
After saying earlier in the week that he didn’t like the Saints and did not feel they played “clean,” Tampa Bay quarterback Baker Mayfield did enough to help his team win comfortably. But the Bucs’ offense did not have the smoothest day.
The Saints managed to preserve a scoreless tie in the second quarter by stuffing four goal-to-go runs from the 1, only to give up Nelson’s defensive touchdown a couple plays later.
Rattler was rolling right and appeared to have tight end Foster Moreau open in the flat, but Nelson — who started because of Haason Reddick’s ankle and knee injuries — tipped Rattler’s pass to himself for his first career interception. The seventh-year pro then flattened the Saints QB while basically walking into the end zone to make it 7-0.
The Bucs appeared to have taken a 14-0 lead on a second defensive touchdown when Winfield recovered receiver Rashid Shaheed’s fumble on the New Orleans 47 and returned it to the end zone. But an inadvertent whistle wiped out Winfield’s return, and a few plays later, Saints defensive end Chase Young forced and recovered a fumble by Mayfield.
The Saints converted that turnover into Blake Grupe’s 48-yard field goal that made it 7-3 at halftime.
Tucker’s TD came after the Saints had stopped Mayfield and Co. three more times from the 1 in the third quarter.
Chase McLaughlin kicked three second-half field goals from 52 or more yards to help the Bucs pull away from there.
Rattler, who fell to 1-13 in career NFL starts, competed 15 of 21 passes for 136 yards. He also lost the fumble forced by Nelson.
Shough completed 17 of 30 passes for 128 yards. The second-round draft choice also was intercepted when his accurate pass to Chris Olave was ripped away by Winfield.
Colts 38, Titans 14
INDIANAPOLIS — Indianapolis running back Jonathan Taylor became the first player in NFL history to score three touchdowns in three consecutive games against the same team Sunday when the Colts defeated the Tennessee Titans 38-14.
Taylor scored on runs of 18 yards in the first quarter and 80 yards on Indy’s first play of the second half before taking a Daniel Jones pass 19 yards for a score to give Indy a 38-7 lead early in the fourth.
The New Jersey native and former Wisconsin Badgers star rushed for three scores against Tennessee in this season’s first matchup in September and in last season’s second contest last December.
Taylor has rushed for three scores in a franchise-record three games this season. He’s done it five times in his career.
Taylor has 63 TD runs, tied with Hall of Famer Lenny Moore for No. 2 in franchise history. Hall of Famer Edgerrin James holds the record of 64.
Taylor finished with 12 carries for 153 yards, his fourth 100-yard game this season and the 28th in his career.
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