The Buffalo Bills got their swagger back in Week 8 to the tune of 31-point blowout victory over the Carolina Panthers. It was a much-needed emphatic bounce-back effort from the the five-time reigning AFC East champions, though the outcome didn't come without controversy.
Bills longtime left tackle Dion Dawkins was making his postgame handshake rounds following Buffalo's bludgeoning of Carolina. He happened to take notice of the final tally while doing so, which demonstrably rubbed Panthers defensive tackle A'Shawn Robinson the wrong way.
Per Dawkins (h/t ESPN's Kimberly A. Martin), he looked up at the scoreboard and uttered "40-9," the score in Carolina, before all hell broke loose. From there, madness ensued, with him and Robinson in the thick of it, though the Bills and their veteran blocker ultimately got the last laugh.
Dion Dawkins gets the final word after hectic Bills-Panthers skirmish
Robinson and Dawkins got into it after Buffalo's blowout defeat in Carolina. Tensions flared and they had to be separated. It was a fittingly ugly end to a nasty interconference clash that reflects poorly on all parties involved and probably could've been avoided. Nevertheless, emotions can get the best of us all at times, especially in the heat of battle.
Dawkins threw his hat at Robinson as their teammates were trying to diffuse the situation, though adrenaline ostensibly was still running high. The latter charged toward the former but was physically stopped and redirected to the locker room by fellow Panther Derrick Brown.
By the look of it, you'd think Dawkins was the agitator, considering he was the one pelting an object at someone. But optics aside, intel suggests Robinson took something that wasn't seemingly intended to be a jab at him or the Panthers personally. Regardless, the Bills picked up a much-needed win to snap their two-game losing streak and improved to 5-2.
Thanks to Dawkins and Buffalo's offensive line, star running back James Cook III ran for a career-high 216 rushing yards against Carolina. It marked the highest single-game rushing out by a Bill in a contest since Hall of Famer O.J. Simpson amassed 273 yards in 1976. An excellent road-paving effort up front encapsulated by a record-setting performance is the cherry on top to a lopsided affair.