The Carolina Panthers’ unbeaten home record was obliterated this week by the Buffalo Bills, 40-9.
The Carolina Panthers were 3-0 at home and on a three-game winning streak after back-to-back home wins, followed by a first road win of the season against the New York Jets.
Buffalo were coming in on a two-game losing streak after defeats to New England and Atalanta before last week’s bye.
With a week off and time to get back on track, Buffalo came to Bank of America Stadium to destroy all the good the Panthers had built on this season, the main one being the run defense.
Helping immensely with the three-game winning streak the Panthers were on was the defense’s ability to stop the run.
Run defense regresses
In a seven-game stretch from Week 13 last season to Week 1 of this, the Panthers defense allowed 200+ rushing yards in every game.
That streak was broken Week 2, and no team had come close to it since. Arizona was kept to 82 rushing yards, Atlanta 131, New England 104, Miami 19, Dallas 31 and New York Jets 81. That is 235 combined yards in the previous four games, and under 100 in the last three.
Enter James Cook III. The Bills ran for a total of 245 yards and Cook was responsible for 216 of them, including two touchdowns, in a career game.
Those 216 yards broke the Panthers’ franchise record for rushing yards allowed by a single player in a game – by one yard. Josh Allen also scored two tush-push rushing touchdowns.
Wide receiver Khalil Shakir had 88 receiving yards on six catches including a 54-yard touchdown. Outside of a few splash plays by Shakir and a mammoth performance from Cook, the Bills offense did not need to rely on the powers of reigning MVP Josh Allen.
A massively regressed Panthers defense allowed the Bills to run up the scoreline while the offense done nothing to help on the other side of the ball.
Nothing on offense
Turning 38 this week, Andy Dalton filled in for the injured Bryce Young.
Dalton was selected one place ahead of Colin Kaepernick and 34 places after Cam Newton in the 2011 draft. The 15-year veteran is 26th in all-time passing yards and tied 26th in all-time passing touchdowns.
He has been a great back-up for Carolina and mentor for Bryce Young since he was drafted in 2023.
This game was always going to be one of the toughest games on the schedule due to Buffalo’s 13-4 2024 record, losing in the AFC Championship game to Kansas City and Josh Allen winning league MVP.
It was a shame to go in without Young but there was confidence a veteran like Dalton could use his experience to manage the game to a satisfactory level. Boy, were we wrong.
This was one of the worst quarterback performances we have seen in a long time. Coming from a Carolina fan, that is saying something! We have seen some stinkers in Charlotte over the years.
Dalton did make some nice throws, but he admitted in his post-game press conference that he “did not give us a chance”.
Sack after sack
Dalton’s worrying lack of mobility saw him sacked seven times. Being used to seeing Young escape pressure like Harry Houdini, Panthers fans are accustomed to seeing our quarterback dance around onrushing defenders.
Seeing how stiff Dalton was in the face of pressure and absorbing hits was startling. He had one interception that was essentially placed into the hands of A.J. Epesnesa at the line of scrimmage, almost returned for a Pick Six. A last-ditch tackle by Chuba Hubbard inside the five saved Dalton’s blushes.
He lost two fumbles, one of which was an attempt to scramble outside the pocket and rush forward to gain positive yards. This was on a really promising 51-yard drive with the score only 3-0 to Buffalo approaching the end of the first quarter.
Rico Dowdle ripped a 24-yard run – the longest Panthers play of the day – up to the Bills’ 20-yard line. Dalton’s fumble came two plays later in the red zone.
One sack – the third of a drive starting just inside the final two minutes of the half – occurred just before the clock ran out on the half with no timeouts left on a 3rd-and-goal play at Buffalo’s 4-yard line. Any quarterback should know you cannot afford to take a sack in this situation.
As the clock ticked away, the field goal unit had to rush onto the field and attempt a pressure kick against the clock.
They did manage to snap the ball just in time but due to the pressure, Ryan Fitzgerald missed the 32-yard attempt wide left. Awful game management and awareness from Dalton.
Is it time to retire? Many moments from this game highlighted a player that should not be playing in this league anymore.
Dowdle continues to impress
Rico Dowdle has emerged as a breath of fresh air for an already decent Panthers run game.
Chuba Hubbard has been the star running back for the team over the past couple of seasons. He earned a big contract extension during last season playing on the final year of his rookie deal.
Dowdle was signed as a free agent in the offseason to compliment Hubbard after breaking out with a 1,076-yard rushing season in his fourth year in the league in 2024.
Dowdle was used sporadically in the first four weeks of this season with Hubbard getting starting reps. With Hubbard ruled out for Weeks 5 and 6, Dowdle showcased his skillset as an aggressive runner with a pair of 200+ yard scrimmage games.
Against Buffalo, Hubbard returned as the starting back, but Dowdle still managed 20 more yards and four more on average. Dowdle’s longest run was for 24 yards while Hubbard’s best effort was five.
The two are not currently complementing each other; instead, they are holding each other back.
Dowdle is not getting to showcase the burst that he has shown in the previous weeks. He looks as if he could rush for 100–200 yards every game with starter reps. Hubbard’s lack of reps is breaking his momentum in his return from injury.
Dave Canales needs to manage this and do what is best for the team. Currently, that is starting Dowdle. Canales has said since that Dowdle will be getting more carries going forward, in essence declaring him the starter. A smart move.
If Dowdle continues to shine with Hubbard reverting to a backup role, could this put Hubbard on the trade market before the deadline?
Next up
With a tough game coming up at Lambeau Field next week against a 5-1-1 Green Bay Packers team on a four-game unbeaten run, the Panthers need all the help they can get.
Unfortunately, we are a bit banged up. Three of the starting offensive linemen left the game against Buffalo.
Right guard Brady Christensen is feared to have ruptured his Achilles, which will end his season. Right tackle Taylor Moton and center Cade Mays also left the game without returning.
As did Jimmy Horn Jr, while linebacker Trevin Wallace exited the game with concussion. The hope is that most will return against Green Bay, as well as – most importantly – Bryce Young.
