ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Lane Johnson isn’t sure what the Philadelphia Eagles proved Sunday except to silence their critics for one week after their run game and defense trampled the Buffalo Bills.
“What are we, 4-4? It looks like we’re average,” the starting right tackle said, injecting a profanity into his comment for emphasis. “We needed a damn win. That’s really what it all boiled down to. It felt good to get one.”
Having spent the past week listening to how awful and soft they were following a 37-10 loss at Dallas, the Eagles responded by snapping a two-game skid with a 31-13 win on the road and against a Bills team that dropped to 5-2.
Rookie Miles Sanders scored on a 65-yard run, one of Philadelphia’s three rushing touchdowns on a wet and windy afternoon in which the Eagles finished with 218 yards on the ground.
Linebacker Brandon Graham keyed a stifling defensive effort by forcing and recovering a fumble while adding one of Philadelphia’s four sacks.
And now it’s the Bills’ turn to face questions about being for real, or whether they’ve benefited from an easy schedule.
AFC-leading New England was the only one of Buffalo’s first six opponents with a winning record. And the Bills raised concerns after they needed to rally from a five-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the winless Miami Dolphins 31-21 last week.
“I don’t know if it’s a wakeup call,” said receiver Cole Beasley, who scored on a 14-yard catch. “I mean, we’ve known that already. We didn’t put together many good quarters today.”
The Eagles took control by scoring touchdowns just before and just after halftime to build a 17-7 lead.
Graham’s forced fumble of quarterback Josh Allen at Buffalo’s 24 led to Carson Wentz hitting Dallas Goedert for a 5-yard touchdown catch with 25 seconds left in the second quarter.
On the second snap from scrimmage in the third quarter, Sanders followed Howard’s block of linebacker Matt Milano in bursting up the left sideline. The second-round draft pick celebrated his touchdown by leaping into a group of Eagles fans in the northeast corner of the end zone’s stands.
After Devin Singletary scored on a 28-yard catch on Buffalo’s next possession, the Eagles responded with Wentz overseeing a six-play, 68-yard touchdown drive, capped by Boston Scott’s 4-yard run.
“I think it’s just a step in the right direction, for those guys to step up and kind of take ownership,” Coach Doug Pederson said. “Listen, being a leader is not about being perfect, and everybody made mistakes. But they owned it. They stepped up and really led today.”
Allen was 3 of 13 for 9 yards over Buffalo’s final six possessions following Singletary’s touchdown. He finished 16 of 34 for 169 yards, with two touchdowns. He also fumbled three times, losing one. Buffalo finished with 253 yards, the fewest since getting 223 in a 20-13 loss at Houston on Oct. 14, 2018.
“They punched us in the mouth, and we have to answer a little better than that,” Allen said.
On defense, Buffalo allowed its most yards rushing since giving up 273 against New England on Dec. 23. And Buffalo had not surrendered three touchdowns rushing since allowing three in a 2018 season-opening 47-3 loss at Baltimore.
“It was frustrating because it starts up front,” defensive end Shaq Lawson said. “We have to do a lot better, myself included.”
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