Report card: Bills squeak out victory vs. Browns

In Week 16, the Buffalo Bills defeated the Cleveland Browns 23-20 at Huntington Bank Field for their 11th win of the season.

The win was Buffalo’s fourth straight, putting the Bills (11-4) within striking distance of the New England Patriots (12-3) atop the AFC East.

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The win featured many of the familiar hallmarks of the Bills’ season: a fast start, inconsistent play, typical road struggles, some crazy decisions, and a couple of big plays that ultimately clinched the victory.

Here’s what Bills Wire had to say about Buffalo’s performance in Sunday’s unanswered victory:

Passing offense: D-

It was a day with putrid smell in the air for the Bills. Allen went 12-of-19 for 130 yards. Dawson Knox’s touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter would give Buffalo a two-point lead. Brandin Cooks threw a perfect pass that would have helped take some of the pressure off Allen.

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Khalil Shakir led the Bills with four catches for 34 yards. The Bills completed just two other passes to wide receivers: a 21-yard pass to Tyrell Shavers and a two-yard pass to Joshua Palmer.

Jackson Hawes had two nice catches. However, Knox had just one catch for 10 yards, and Dalton Kinkaid was shut out.

Allen suffered a calf injury before halftime, which also affected his mobility. All in all, it was a forgettable afternoon for Buffalo’s passing attack.

Rushing offense: A-

Thank God for Buffalo’s running game. The ground game kept the Bills offense afloat. James Cook was outstanding again, rushing for 117 yards on 14 carries. He ripped through Cleveland’s defense with a 44-yard touchdown run. His second run of the day was a three-yard power play straight ahead. The only downside: The Browns adjusted well after halftime, and Cook gained just 17 yards in the second half.

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Ty Johnson and Ray Davis combined for 30 yards on six carries. Allen gained 17 yards on seven carries, with several of those attempts coming on ancient push plays.

Pass defense: A-

Buffalo held Shadeur Sanders to 157 passing yards. The Bills intercepted Sanders twice and forced turnovers on Jordan Poyer and Daquan Jones.

It was a great day, but far from perfect. There were several times when Sanders got away with the pressure and made something happen. The Bills had some trouble limiting the passing game to their running backs, with the Browns totaling nine catches for 68 yards.

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Greg Rousseau had a breakout game with 2.5 sacks. He recorded a staggering seven quarterback hits. Rousseau’s sacking, which forced the Bills to take an intentional grounding penalty, was a big moment in cementing the Bills’ win.

Charge Defense: D+

The Browns found light in the running game at will. Interestingly, the best performer wasn’t Cleveland’s best running back, Quinson Giukis. Judkins rushed for just 22 yards on eight carries before leaving the game with an injury.

The Browns used a collective effort to gain 160 rushing yards on 31 carries. Sanders did the most damage when breaking the pocket, gaining 49 yards on four carries. Raheim Sanders carried the ball 11 times for 42 yards in Judkins’ place. Malachi Corley had three jet sweeps for 30 yards.

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Tutoring: B+

This is a year for the Bills where an ugly win means more than a beautiful loss. Buffalo won, and that was all that mattered, retaining the AFC East title.

This article originally appeared on Bills Wire: Transcript: Bills beat Browns