Bills vs Panthers Recap
The Bills played their most entertaining game of the preseason Saturday in their final game before roster cutdowns with a 31-26 loss to the Carolina Panthers. All of the expected starters heading into the regular season sat to prevent any more injuries to an already banged-up roster. The Panthers did not sit their starters, so this was a good opportunity for potential Bills’ backups to see playing time versus first-stringers on both sides of the ball. The defense appeared to have Bryce Young, and the offense stopped on their first drive, but a long passing play on 4th down kept the drive going, resulting in a touchdown pass to Jordan Matthews (yes, the former Bills WR, now TE). Ben DiNucci responded with a 16 play drive where the offense went 4-5 on 3rd downs, and narrowly missed a touchdown on beautiful route by Tyrell Shavers, before settling for a 31 yard Tyler Bass field goal.
The Bills got into the end zone for the first time this preseason on a short pass from DiNucci to a streaking Darrynton Evans out of the backfield, putting the Bills up 11-7. This would be the last time the Bills led in the game. Carolina returned the ensuing kickoff for 46 yards, setting the offense up for a 5-play drive, resulting in the touchdown to go ahead for good.
Some positives came out of this game, but the challenge is how many will translate to the regular season since most players will not be on the 53-man roster after 4 p.m. on Tuesday. Many players made strong cases to be on the practice squad, and a few may have solidified their chances of making the 53. This week, I will have a different spin on trending up and down players. I will put who I believe confirmed their spot at making the team and the practice squad, and a few players who I think will not be on either.
What I liked
Getting their first touchdown of the preseason. It was nice to see the offense finally find the end zone. The Bills finished the game 3-4 in the red zone.
Ben DiNucci looks like a capable backup. Still learning the playbook, DiNucci finished the preseason 14-20 with 96 yards and a TD.
Rushing game. The Bills running attack remained strong this preseason with a 164-yard, 2-touchdown performance with a 6.1-yard average.
Frank Gore Jr. Gore capped off his preseason, eclipsing the 100-yard mark and scoring his first touchdown before leaving the game with a knee injury. Gore totaled 163 yards with a 4.9 average over the three games.
Bills rushing defense. The Bills held the Panthers to a 2.8 average on Saturday.
Backup offensive line. The Bills have NFL-caliber backups in this unit. I won't be surprised if Beane trades one or two before rosters are cut down.
Spreading the ball around. The offense did a good job of getting players touches in what may have been the last time these guys see an NFL field. 10 different receivers made 22 receptions.
KJ Hamler in as an emergency running back. Hamler stepped up after the injuries to Evans and Gore with three carries for 21 yards and a touchdown.
Penalties. The Bills only had three penalties for 20 yards. Both preseason lows.
No Turnovers.
What I didn't like
I have been defending Tyler Bass all preseason because he just needs to continue making kicks in games and rebuild his confidence. On Saturday, he had his first miss of the preseason in perfect conditions. Bass missed a 51-yard field goal after reports of inconsistencies on long field goals in practice all week. McDermott did not mince words afterward, “Those are ones he’s got to make," McDermott said. "That’s one we've got to have.” I don't know what the Bills can realistically do at this point aside from working with Bass on his confidence as his kicking woes continue to linger from the end of last season.
Special Teams. The Bills allowed an average return of 29.3 yards on kickoffs and 13.5 yards on punt returns. Both of these must be improved once the regular season starts unless the Bills want to give opposing offenses short fields against their defense.
The last two defensive play calls at the end of the first half. The Bills went to a prevent defense that gifted the Panthers 12 yards on two plays with no time-outs. Instead of a 55+ yard FG attempt, they moved into a manageable 45-yard field goal
3rd down and 4th down defense. The Panthers converted 61% of their 3rd down attempts and were 50% on 4th down.
Backup secondary was torched by Jack Plummer who finished with 278 yards and 2 touchdowns completing 72% of his passes.
Players trending up (53-man)
Joe Andreessen
Tylan Grable
Daequan Hardy
Kingsley Jonathan
Zach Davidson
Edefuan Ulofoshio
Players trending up (Practice Squad)
Frank Gore Jr
Darrynton Evans
Te’Cory Couch
Xavier Johnson
Justin Shorter
Tre’ McKitty
KJ Hamler
Deon Cain
Players trending down
Andy Isabella
Kyron Brown
Kendall Williamson
Next up: Roster Cutdowns - Tuesday 4 PM
