Bills-Panthers observations: 10 things we learned from Buffalo's 31-26 loss in the preseason finale
You'd be forgiven Saturday if you were scrambling for your roster when watching the Bills' preseason finale. Dealing with a rash of injuries to projected starters or key contributors, Bills coach Sean McDermott played it safe with those who are healthy, choosing to hold them out of the game.
You'd be forgiven Saturday if you were scrambling for your roster when watching the Buffalo Bills' preseason finale.
Dealing with a rash of injuries to projected starters or key contributors, Bills head coach Sean McDermott played it safe with those who are healthy, choosing to hold them out of the preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers at Highmark Stadium. The Panthers came away with a 31-26 win on Kids Day, dropping the Bills to 1-2 in the preseason.
Up next: Roster cuts. The team must set its initial 53-man roster by 4 p.m. Tuesday.
"That’s a part of it, right? You don’t just discount it just because it’s the last preseason game and we automatically just quickly, when I get back over to the office, move on to the first game of the season," McDermott said, discussing how much Saturday's game factors into the final roster crunch. "So you want to extrapolate out what we need to from this game, whether it’s personnel, schematics, situational things that we can learn from this game as well."
Here are 10 observations from the game:
1. Josh Allen wasn’t in attendance. The Bills’ star quarterback was excused from Saturday’s game to attend to a personal matter, the team confirmed. Allen led a long list of the Bills’ projected starters who did not play. Edge rusher Von Miller was among them. Miller was the only uninjured player on the roster held out of all three preseason games.
Ben DiNucci started at quarterback with Allen out.
Panthers wide receiver Terrace Marshall Jr., right, goes airborne trying to catch a pass while Bills cornerback Daequan Hardy defends on Saturday at Highmark Stadium. Joshua Bessex, Buffalo News
2. The offense finally reached the end zone. The Bills had not scored a touchdown in their first two exhibitions. That streak came to an end with 5:53 left in the second quarter when DiNucci connected with running back Darrynton Evans on an 18-yard touchdown pass. That capped a six-play, 61-yard drive. The Bills went up 11-7 after a penalty against Carolina on the extra point was accepted, and the Buffalo offense attempted a 2-point conversion that was successful when DiNucci's tipped pass was caught by tight end Tré McKitty.
The Bills' second touchdown of the preseason came in the third quarter, when running back Frank Gore Jr. carried it in from 5 yards out. Gore led the Bills with 101 yards on 18 carries before leaving the game in the fourth quarter because of a knee injury.
3. Bryce Young played for the Panthers. Carolina's second-year quarterback, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2023 draft, played one series, leading a 12-play, 85-yard touchdown drive. Young went 6 of 8 for 70 yards on the drive. Young's best play was probably a fourth-and-3 conversion from the Bills' 46-yard line that kept the drive alive. He scrambled out of trouble before connecting with wide receiver Diontae Johnson for a 17-yard gain, making the throw on the run.
4. The quarterbacks report. DiNucci played the first half and went 11 of 15 for 76 yards and one touchdown. He also led a 16-play, 61-yard drive that ended in a field goal on Buffalo's opening possession. That came against a mix of Carolina's projected defensive starters on the field. On that drive, DiNucci had wide receiver Tyrell Shavers open in the end zone, but the pass was overthrown.
Anthony Brown played the second half for the Bills, going 11 of 12 for 102 yards. Collectively, the Bills' quarterbacks were sacked three times.
"I thought both quarterbacks were impressive," McDermott said. "Short run-up, practice time. I thought the coaches did a really good job of getting them functional, and I tip my cap to those guys. They went in and executed, were able to run the offense, get us into somewhat of a rhythm in multiple drives there."
5. Joe Andreessen watch. One of the biggest stories of the summer has been the roster push made by Andreessen, a Lancaster High School graduate who participated in the Bills’ rookie minicamp on a tryout basis before earning a contract. Andreessen started for the second straight exhibition and finished with eight tackles, tying cornerback Te'Cory Couch for the team lead.
"It's been cool," Andreessen said of playing with his hometown team. "You know, I've been working my whole life, pretty much, for this. I sacrificed a lot of time toward football. Not just me, my family as well. It's been a blessing, and hopefully it continues."
On Carolina’s first touchdown, Andreessen followed the receiver to the flat, leaving the middle of the field wide open. That’s where Young went with the ball, connecting on an 8-yard touchdown pass to Panthers tight end Jordan Matthews, the former Bills wide receiver who has changed positions. It’s unclear whether Andreessen was at fault, but either way, it was a big mistake that led to a Panthers touchdown.
"Definitely things we can fix," Andreessen said.
6. Evans left early. The Bills running back suffered a hamstring injury and did not return to the game. He finished with three carries for 15 yards and three catches for 28 yards, including his touchdown.
With 7:04 left in the fourth quarter, safety Dee Delaney suffered a left knee injury on a play that ended with an incomplete pass. He did not return.
7. K.J. Hamler made a position switch. With Evans and Gore out of the game in the fourth quarter, wide receiver K.J. Hamler took over at running back. He rushed three times for 21 yards, including a 1-yard touchdown run with 1:57 left in the game, much to his teammates' enjoyment.
"We called that timeout. We were out of backs and so wanted to get a run in there," McDermott said. "K.J. was great and did a great job getting to the edge there and brought some juice, man, some good energy. So, when (offensive coordinator) Joe (Brady) called on him, he was like, 'What do you need me for?' We were like, 'Hey, run the ball.' He was like, 'Let’s go, baby, right?' So, that’s K.J. So, it was awesome to see and then you saw the response from his teammates on the sideline."
8. Dane Jackson missed out on his reunion. The former Bills cornerback, who signed a two-year contract worth up to $8.5 million this offseason with the Panthers, did not play for Carolina because of a hamstring injury. Jackson is a projected starter for the Panthers. Carolina played most of its starters, with the exception of linebacker Jadeveon Clowney, cornerback Jaycee Horn, safety Xavier Woods, left guard Damien Lewis, center Austin Corbett and tight ends Tommy Tremble and Ian Thomas.
Former Bills guard Ike Boettger, now with the Panthers, got into the game.
9. The following Bills did not play because of injury: safety Damar Hamlin (hamstring), wide receiver Curtis Samuel (turf toe), quarterback Mitchell Trubisky (knee), safety Terrell Burgess (hamstring), linebacker Baylon Spector (calf), linebacker Matt Milano (bicep) offensive tackle Travis Clayton (shoulder), offensive lineman Will Clapp (concussion) wide receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling (neck), tight end Quintin Morris (shoulder), safety Cole Bishop (shoulder) and safety Mike Edwards (hamstring).
10. Two Olympic medalists were in attendance. Matt Anderson, a West Seneca native who won a bronze medal with the U.S. men’s volleyball team at the Paris Olympics, was recognized by the Bills during pregame warmups. So, too, was Anita Alvarez, a Kenmore West graduate who won a silver medal with the U.S. artistic swimming team.
