Winners and losers: 5 takeaways from Bills big win over Seahawks in Week 8

In what was easily their most impressive all-around performance of the 2024 NFL season thus far, the Buffalo Bills went into Lumen Field on a rainy Sunday afternoon and pummeled the Seattle Seahawks, taking a 31-10 victory.

The win didn't come without its hiccups. Josh Allen, of course, saw his interception-free streak come to an end, although it ultimately didn't matter, as the Buffalo defense, which was impressive throughout, didn't allow the Seahawks to take advantage, stuffing Seattle at the goal line to force a turnover on downs.

Then, of course, there were the penalties, many of which were committed by the offensive line. But, again, they ultimately turned out not to matter, as the Bills were able to consistently move the football down the field. And it's not as if the Seahawks didn't have any penalty problems of their own. In total, 24 penalties were handed out on Sunday, the most of any game this season.

Now with a pair of three-game winning streaks this year, the Bills are now 6-2 and in complete control of the AFC East, as every other team in the division only has two wins. The New England Patriots, of course, got win number two on Sunday by upsetting the New York Jets, who have now lost five straight and sit in last place at 2-6.

It seemed as if the Miami Dolphins, who got Tua Tagovailoa back this week, were going to improve to 3-5, but they squandered a nine-point lead in the fourth quarter and ultimately took a 28-27 loss to the Arizona Cardinals.

So, Buffalo is in great shape as we near the midway point of the season. It was tough to find any losers from Sunday's big win, so we'll just focus on the winners from the Bills' Week 8 victory over the Seahawks.

Winner: The Bills' defense

We'll get into the offensive stars in just a moment, but the Buffalo defense as a whole deserves its flowers here at the get-go.

Yes, the Bills caught a break by not having to deal with DK Metcalf, who sat out just the second game of his career due to the MCL sprain he suffered in his left knee in Seattle's Week 7 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Nevertheless, Buffalo didn't allow Geno Smith to get anything going, holding him to just 123 yards through the first three quarters. He picked up some extra yardage in the final frame, ending his day with 212 yards, but the game was over by that point, and the Bills were in extremely soft coverage.

The Seahawks were finally starting to move the ball a bit on their first offensive possession of the second half, but defensive tackle Austin Johnson's first career interception put a stop to that.

But while the Bills were able to slow down Seattle's potent passing attack, their defense against the run was even better. They held Kenneth Walker III to just 12 yards, the second-lowest total of his career, and stopped him multiple times on the aforementioned goal-line stand following Allen's interception.

In total, the Seahawks gained just 32 yards on the ground. Buffalo allowed just a single rushing yard in the first half, marking the second-fewest rushing yards the Bills have given up in a half since the turn of the century. The 233 total yards by the Seahawks were the fewest allowed by Buffalo in any game this season.

Winner: Josh Allen

While Josh Allen's franchise-record streak of pass attempts without an interception ended at 300 with his pick in the second quarter, it's also worth noting that he was the one who tackled Josh Jobe on the return, perhaps even stopping a touchdown, thus giving his defense the opportunity to make the goal-line stand.

Outside the interception, Allen had a strong day, completing 24 of 34 passes for 283 yards with two touchdowns, the first going to Keon Coleman and the second to tight end Dalton Kincaid. He also added 25 rushing yards on seven carries.

The rainy conditions only made Allen's performance that much more impressive, and his case for NFL MVP remains as strong as anyone in the league.

Winner: Khalil Shakir

Some thought Khalil Shakir's role might diminish a bit with the acquisition of Amari Cooper, but that trade was always going to benefit him.

With opposing defenses having to pay so much attention to Cooper, which the Seahawks did, limiting him to just one catch for three yards, Shakir is only going to get more opportunities to shine.

And he certainly did that on Sunday, catching a career-high nine passes for 107 yards, the second-highest total of his three-year career behind only his 115-yard effort against the Jets last year. Expect more big games from Shakir moving forward.

Winner: James Cook

lt wasn't just the Buffalo passing game that took it to the Seattle defense, as James Cook had a big day on the ground as well.

Seemingly fully healed from the toe injury that forced him to miss the Bills' Week 6 win over the Jets, Cook rushed for a season-high 111 yards on Sunday on just 17 carries and found the end zone twice.

He scored on a two-yard run late in the third quarter to give the Bills a 24-3 lead and then ran in a seven-yarder early in the fourth to extend the advantage to 28.

If both the passing attack and the running game are on point simultaneously, this Bills offense will be difficult to stop.

Winner: Tyler Bass

After missing both an extra-point attempt and a field goal against the Jets two weeks ago, Tyler Bass' job security was questioned, and Buffalo even worked out other kickers in the days that followed.

But since then, Bass has been perfect. He didn't have an overly tough day against the Seahawks, as his lone field-goal attempt was only a 27-yarder. Nevertheless, making that and connecting on all four of his extra-point tries is good for his confidence level, so we're calling him a winner here.