The Buffalo Bills used a hot start from the first and second-team units on Friday to secure a 27-14 win over the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, North Carolina.
The Bills' starting offense had quite the day in their two drives, scoring 10 points and looking in sync in their limited time.
Like last week, the offense got a lot of reps in for quarterback Josh Allen and the passing game. Allen's first drive showed plenty of promise, going 6-for-8 for 61 yards. Allen found new Bills receiver Cole Beasley often on the first drive, with Beasley reeling in four catches for 30 yards. However, the drive stalled out in the red zone, resulting in the first score of the game being a Stephen Hauschka 30-yard field goal.
The Bills' starting defense started their night by forcing a three-and-out of the Panthers offense that was without quarterback Cam Newton, who was given the night off by the Carolina coaching staff.
After a good punt return by Andre Roberts, the Bills offense finished the job on their second drive with LeSean McCoy capping the drive with a one-yard touchdown run. Beasley and rookie tight end Tommy Sweeney had big gains of 14 and 25 yards, respectively, to get the Bills on the doorstep for McCoy to score at the end the opening quarter. Allen's day ended with just two misfires, going 9-for-11 for 102 yards passing.
Buffalo's second-team offense put a lot of focus on rookie running back Devin Singletary once again, with Singletary being a key in the passing game with 25 yards on three receptions, while adding six yards on two carries. That drive resulted in Hauschka's second missed field goal of the preseason, missing a 48-yard attempt.
The two teams would exchange turnovers shortly after as Bills running back Senorise Perry fumbled on his first carry of the game, with Carolina taking over in Bills territory at the Buffalo 40-yard line. However, the Bills defense managed to turn that into points, as cornerback Kevin Johnson returned an interception 70-yards the other way to make it a 17-0 Bills lead.
The Panthers would finally get on the board near the end of the half, thanks to two penalties from the Bills that would have gotten the Panthers' offense off of the field. Carolina took advantage with a field goal from Joey Slye to cut it to a 17-3 Bills lead. However, Matt Barkley and the Bills offense marched down the field in a two-minute drill and connected with Duke Williams for a nine-yard touchdown to make it 24-3, while Carolina added another field goal to end the half and make it 24-6.
UB Bulls product Tyree Jackson took over under center in the second half, but once again struggled to find any consistency. Jackson had some splash plays, including a 48-yard pass to Christian Wade, who nearly scored on his first reception of the preseason after an impressive run for a score last week. Jackson ended his day 4-for-10 with 68 yards and an interception.
The Bills did get a field goal after Wade's reception got them into field goal range, with Chase McLaughlin connecting on a 23-yard attempt.
The Panthers got a late touchdown, but the Bills still left Charlotte with the 27-14 for their second win of the preseason.
Scoring Summary:
First Quarter:
- 3-0 BILLS - Bills field goal - 30-yard field goal attempt by Stephen Hauschka is good
- Drive info: 13 plays, 63 yards, 6:02
- 10-0 BILLS - Bills touchdown - 1-yard touchdown run by LeSean McCoy (extra point by Stephen Hauschka is good)
- Drive info: 5 plays, 35 yards, 3:10
Second Quarter:
- 10-0 BILLS - Bills missed field goal - 48-yard field goal attempt by Stephen Hauschka is no good
- 10-0 BILLS - Panthers fumble recovery - Senorise Perry fumbles on his first carry, recovered by Carolina's Andre Smith at the Buffalo 40-yard line.
- 17-0 BILLS - Bills interception return - Kevin Johnson 70-yard interception return for a touchdown (extra point by Stephen Hauschka is good)
- Drive info: 1 play, 70 yards
- 17-3 BILLS - Panthers field goal - 40-yard field goal attempt by Joey Slye is good
- Drive info: 11 plays, 53 yards, 5:20
- 24-3 BILLS - Bills touchdown - Matt Barkley 9-yard touchdown pass to Duke Williams (extra point by Stephen Hauschka is good)
- Drive info: 6 plays, 75 yards, 1:20
- 24-6 BILLS - Panthers field goal - 54-yard field goal attempt by Joey Slye is good
- Drive info: 4 plays, 33 yards, 0:26
Third Quarter:
- 24-6 BILLS - Panthers interception - Tyree Jackson uncorks a deep ball but is intercepted by Lorenzo Doss in the end zone for a touchback
Fourth Quarter:
- 27-6 BILLS - Bills field goal - 23-yard field goal attempt by Chase McLaughlin is good
- Drive info: 12 plays, 76 yards, 5:12
- 27-14 BILLS - Panthers touchdown - Taylor Heinicke 9-yard touchdown pass to Rashad Ross (two-point conversion by Carolina is good)
- Drive info: 11 plays, 75 yards, 5:05
LoTempio Complete Stats of the Game
Individual Stats:
Passing:
Buffalo Bills:
Matt Barkley - 8 of 10, 110 yards, 1 TD
Josh Allen - 9 of 11, 102 yards
Tyree Jackson - 4 of 10, 68 yards, 1 INT
Carolina Panthers:
Taylor Heinicke - 8 of 11, 78 yards, 1 TD
Will Grier - 10 of 19, 75 yards, 1 INT
Kyle Allen - 4 of 11, 32 yards
Rushing:
Buffalo Bills:
Tyree Jackson - 8 carries, 27 yards
T.J. Yeldon - 7 carries, 26 yards
Marcus Murphy - 6 carries, 21 yards
LeSean McCoy - 4 carries, 6 yards, 1 TD
Devin Singletary - 2 carries, 6 yards
Christian Wade - 2 carries, 4 yards
Senorise Perry - 1 carry, 3 yards, 1 fumble
Josh Allen - 1 carry, 1 yard
Carolina Panthers:
Jordan Scarlett - 8 carries, 35 yards
Cameron Artis-Payne: 4 carries, 18 yards
Elijah Holyfield - 3 carries, 17 yards
Kyle Allen - 2 carries, 14 yards
Reggie Bonnafon - 2 carries, 11 yards
Taylor Heinicke - 1 carry, 4 yards
Receiving:
Buffalo Bills:
Christian Wade - 1 reception, 48 yards
Tommy Sweeney - 2 receptions, 47 yards
Cole Beasley - 5 receptions, 44 yards
Duke Williams - 3 receptions, 38 yards, 1 TD
Isaiah McKenzie - 1 reception, 37 yards
Devin Singletary - 3 receptions, 25 yards
Victor Bolden - 2 receptions, 20 yards
LeSean McCoy - 2 receptions, 11 yards
T.J. Yeldon - 1 reception, 10 yards
Ray-Ray McCloud III - 1 reception, 0 yards
Carolina Panthers:
Reggie Bonnafon - 4 receptions, 32 yards
Rashad Ross - 3 receptions, 28 yards, 1 TD
Andre Levrone - 2 receptions, 22 yards
Temarrick Hemmingway - 1 reception, 20 yards
DeAndrw White - 1 reception, 14 yards
Curtis Samuel - 1 reception, 13 yards
D.J. Moore - 1 reception, 8 yards
Defense:
Buffalo Bills:
Deon Lacey - 8 tackles, 1 tackle for loss
Dean Marlowe - 5 tackles
Darryl Johnson - 2 tackles, 1 sack, 1 forced fumble
Trent Murphy - 1 tackle, 1 sack
Kevin Johnson - 1 interception, 1 TD
Carolina Panthers:
Jermaine Carter - 7 tackles
Andre Smith - 2 tackles, 1 fumble recovery
Lorenzo Doss - 1 tackle, 1 interception
Team Stats:
Total Yards:
BUF: 373CAR: 258
Passing Yards:
BUF: 279CAR: 155
Rushing Yards:
BUF: 94CAR: 103
First Downs:
BUF: 20CAR: 18
Penalties:
BUF: 11 for 100 yards CAR: 7 for 62 yards
Time of Possession:
BUF: 31:40CAR: 28:20
What's Next:
The Bills head back on the road next Friday night to take on the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. Kickoff is set for 8 p.m. and can be heard on WGR with John Murphy, Eric Wood and Sal Capaccio on the call.
