ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Here are my five takes on the Buffalo Bills ’ 40-9 victory against the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium:

1. The Bills needed this. Badly.

It wasn’t only because they had lost two games in a row and didn’t want New England’s lead in the AFC East to get any wider. The convincing fashion also relieved some of the mounting pressure on Sean McDermott and everyone else in the organization after back-to-back losses against the Patriots and Falcons.

Put it this way, a third consecutive defeat — something that hasn’t happened to the Bills in six years — would have been cause for legitimate panic about the team’s fortunes in the regular season, let alone the playoffs.

Asked if it was a “get right day,” Josh Allen said, “I mean, the way that we won, fo

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