Dan Morgan could have hand-waved away Saturday’s putrid performance as a preseason game that doesn’t really matter anyway. But the Carolina Panthers general manager wasn’t going there.
“The preseason games, it’s a game setting. You should be competing at the highest level,” Morgan said during the third quarter on the Panthers’ TV broadcast. “I think the games matter a lot, and hopefully, we perform better next week.”
There wasn’t much to like in the Panthers’ 29-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills, who broke in their $2.1 billion Highmark Stadium by beating up on the visitors on both sides of the ball. As exciting as the Panthers’ 33-30 victory in the Hall of Fame Game was, this one was just bad August football for coach Dave Canales’ team.
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Canales said he hoped to get “20-ish reps” for quarterback Bryce Young and the first-team offense. But he also had a three-series cap for Young, which the Panthers hit by going 3-and-out each of their first three series. Backup QB Kenny Pickett (16 of 19 passing for 92 yards and a touchdown) played well. But the defense had no luck slowing down Josh Allen or the two backup Bills quarterbacks who followed him.
Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks had four touches, including a 9-yard reception, in his first action in 20 months following a second ACL surgery on his right knee. Canales said he got emotional talking to Brooks on the sideline about what he’d endured to get back on the field.
The Panthers won’t have much time to make corrections: They’re scheduled to practice Monday before heading to Jacksonville, where they’ll conduct a joint practice with the Jaguars ahead of the teams’ preseason game two night later.
“Against the Jaguars, against Houston (which will practice vs. Carolina the following week), we’re gonna be able to do our stuff against really good defenses,” Morgan said. “I think it’ll be really good tests for us to show us where we’re at.”
Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from Saturday’s preseason game:
Stock up
First-team edge rushers
After Allen opened the game with a pair of 20-plus-yard passes, the Panthers’ pass rushers got home to limit the damage. Princely Umanmielen beat tackle Dion Dawkins (who looked like he was expecting a running back chip) around the edge to force Allen into the hands of Jaelan Phillips for a sack on second down. Phillips was also in the backfield on third down. And while the $120 million man couldn’t wrestle Allen to the ground, he forced an incompletion and made the Bills settle for a field goal. Canales said Umanmielen made a “huge improvement” from the first preseason game.
Second-team edge rusher Cam Gill
Gill showed the pass-rushing form that helped him become the UFL’s Defensive MVP this year when he set a league record with 10 sacks. On the Bills’ third offensive series, Gill sacked former Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen and pressured him on another play.
With Nic Scourton out for the season, the Panthers could use another pass rusher who can make plays. Gill has shown an ability to do so.
WR Ja’seem Reed
To borrow a phrase from Buddy Ryan — and with apologies to Hall of Famer Cris Carter — all Reed does is catch touchdowns. The second-year receiver from the University of San Diego pulled in a 6-yard pass from Pickett late in the first half for his second TD reception in as many games.
But Reed does more than just haul in touchdowns. “He just catches everything,” Morgan told the Panthers’ broadcast team. “Out there at practice, if that ball’s near him, he’s catching it.”
As a member of the practice squad last season, Reed was a handful for the first-team defense. But the 6-2, 195-pounder, who caught all three targets for 17 yards Saturday, appears to be playing his way onto the active roster this summer. “He’s really helped himself out in terms of making the 53,” Morgan said. “So far, so good with him, and we’re excited about his future.”
Stock down
Interior offensive line
The Panthers continue to ease starting guards Rob Hunt (back) and Damien Lewis (calf) back from nagging injuries. For Young and first-year play-caller Brad Idzik, they can’t return quickly enough.
Brady Christensen and Chandler Zavala started in place of Hunt and Lewis, respectively, and both struggled. Zavala was beaten by nose tackle Deone Walker on the Panthers’ first offensive snap, stuffing Brooks for no gain.
The Panthers appeared to have their initial first down when Young found Jalen Coker for 9 yards on second-and-4. But center Luke Fortner, an offseason acquisition, was penalized for being downfield. Two plays later, a stunting Walker bulled past Christensen and sacked Young for a 6-yard loss, forcing another Panthers punt.
“Overall, the story was in the trenches. It was the run game, the line of scrimmage. Talked to the group about it, and we’ve gotta attack those things,” Canales said. “The first group goes out there and really couldn’t get anything going with the run game.”
The defense
Panthers defensive starters, who sat out the preseason opener at Canton, were excited about playing “a different color” in Buffalo. They should be careful what they wish for.
While Young and the Panthers’ first-team offense were stuck in neutral on the Highmark Stadium grass, Josh Allen carved up Carolina’s defense during his two possessions. Allen, the 2024 league MVP, completed 6-of-8 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown. He flirted with a perfect passer rating, finishing with a mark of 156.2.
Allen’s damage came against Carolina’s first-team defense on the opening drive before Canales began subbing out starters during the Bills’ second possession. Neither the first- nor second-team had an answer for the Bills, who racked up 410 yards in a 40-9 rout of the Panthers last October.
“Hats off to Joe Brady and having his guys ready to go,” said Canales of the former Panthers offensive coordinator and the Bills’ first-year head coach. “Josh Allen looked like Josh Allen. We were able to get some pressure, some good rushes out of our guys. That was good to see.”
The tight ends
With veteran Darren Waller set to sign a one-year deal Monday pending a physical, Saturday represented a chance for the tight ends currently on the roster to make a splash. They barely managed a ripple.
Tommy Tremble and Ja’Tavion Sanders combined for two receptions for 9 yards in what was admittedly a small window of opportunity. Mitchell Evans, the second-year tight end from Notre Dame, was not targeted. Sanders followed a good week of practice with a couple of nice blocks Saturday, which is not viewed as his forte.
But the 6-6, 238-pound Waller brings a different element to the tight end room — a tall target with good speed and a big catch radius. The Panthers will look to get him going quickly.
