Panthers Fall to Bills 29-14 in Preseason, But Here's Why Nobody in Charlotte Should Be Panicking
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The Carolina Panthers dropped their second preseason game of the summer, falling 29-14 to the Buffalo Bills on Saturday at Highmark Stadium — the brand-new $2.2 billion home the Bills christened with their first game ever played there. It wasn't a pretty performance from Carolina's offense, and the box score reflects that. But before anyone starts drafting panicked group texts, let's talk about why this particular loss really doesn't tell us much of anything about how the Panthers' season is actually going to go.
What Happened on the Field
Carolina's starting offense, led by Bryce Young, struggled from the opening whistle. The first-team unit went three-and-out on all three of its possessions, managing just 3-of-5 passing for 18 yards from Young before he was pulled. A penalty even wiped out what would have been the offense's only first down of the day. All in, the Panthers finished with just 201 total yards compared to 396 for Buffalo, and averaged only 3.5 yards per play against the Bills' 6.4.
Buffalo, for its part, looked sharp with its own starters on the field. Josh Allen completed 6 of 8 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown in limited action, including a 9-yard scoring strike to Keon Coleman in the first quarter. The Bills also ran for 151 yards as a team, nearly matching Carolina's entire offensive output on the ground alone.
Carolina's two touchdowns came from the backups: a 6-yard touchdown pass from Kenny Pickett to Ja'Seem Reed late in the first half, and a 9-yard touchdown pass from newly signed quarterback Kyle Trask to John Metchie III with just 20 seconds left on the clock.
The Full Scoring Breakdown
First Quarter: Bills field goal (33 yards), Bills touchdown pass to Keon Coleman — Bills lead 10-0 Second Quarter:Bills field goal (46 yards), Panthers touchdown pass to Ja'Seem Reed — Bills lead 13-7 Third Quarter: Bills field goal (29 yards) — Bills lead 16-7 Fourth Quarter: Bills rushing touchdown, Bills rushing touchdown — Panthers touchdown pass to John Metchie III — Final: Bills 29, Panthers 14
The Stats That Actually Matter
Total yards: Buffalo 396, Carolina 201
Yards per play: Buffalo 6.4, Carolina 3.5
Rushing yards: Buffalo 151, Carolina 61 (3.1 yards per carry)
Bryce Young's line: 3-of-5 passing, 18 yards, three-and-out on all three drives
Josh Allen's line: 6-of-8 passing, 111 yards, 1 touchdown
Third-down conversions: Buffalo went just 1-for-7, Carolina finished 3-for-11
That third-down number is actually the most interesting stat buried in this whole game. Buffalo moved the ball at will between the 20s but converted almost nothing on third down — meaning Carolina's defense, even in a lopsided loss, still found ways to get stops when it mattered most in short-yardage situations.
So Why Isn't This a Big Deal?
Here's the thing about preseason football: it exists almost entirely to evaluate depth, not to predict outcomes. A handful of factors make this particular result even easier to shrug off.
Carolina was missing key starters. Offensive linemen Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis didn't play, which matters enormously when your quarterback is going three-and-out behind a patchwork line. Defensive tackle Derrick Brown was also out, and lead running back Chuba Hubbard sat with a hamstring injury. That's a lot of starting-caliber talent missing from a unit that's supposed to be evaluated as a whole.
Bryce Young barely played. Three series is a small sample size by any measure, and coach Dave Canales had already signaled beforehand that Young would only see somewhere between 10 and 20 total snaps, depending on how the drives unfolded. This game was never designed to be a referendum on Young's readiness for the regular season — it was a look, not a verdict.
Buffalo also barely used its starters. Allen and the Bills' first-team offense played a similarly limited amount before giving way to backups. Both teams treated this exactly like what it was: a preseason tune-up, not a statement game.
Preseason scores have historically meant nothing for Carolina. In fact, the Panthers lost this exact fixture last preseason before turning around and winning their next game against Buffalo's backups the following year. Preseason win-loss records simply don't correlate with regular-season performance in any meaningful way across the NFL.
The Real Silver Lining: Jonathon Brooks Is Back
Buried underneath the final score was a genuinely encouraging development for Carolina. Running back Jonathon Brooks played in a game for the first time since December 2024, getting four touches — three carries for 5 yards and a 9-yard catch — while working in with the starters. Canales had said ahead of the game that Brooks was "ready to rock," and simply getting him back on the field after such a long layoff is a meaningful step regardless of the yardage total. With Hubbard banged up, having Brooks healthy and integrated gives Carolina real depth at running back heading into the regular season.
What's Next for the Panthers
Carolina's preseason slate continues with a road trip to face the Jacksonville Jaguars on Friday, Aug. 21, at EverBank Stadium, kicking off at 7:30 p.m. ET. That game should offer a clearer picture of where the offense stands, particularly if Young and the starters get an extended look the way they did not against Buffalo.
There's also an injury situation worth tracking. Quarterback Haynes King, who delivered the walk-off touchdown to beat the Arizona Cardinals in the Hall of Fame Game, suffered a hamstring injury on that very play and is considered week-to-week. That's part of why Carolina brought in veteran Kyle Trask, who now slots in as the No. 3 option behind Young and Pickett while King recovers.
The Bottom Line
A 29-14 preseason loss with your top offensive linemen, top defensive tackle and top running back all watching from the sideline is not the kind of result that should move the needle on how anyone feels about Carolina's season. The starters played a combined handful of snaps, the backups did what backups do, and the most meaningful storyline to come out of the day — Jonathon Brooks returning to the field healthy — was actually good news. Preseason football is about evaluation, not projection, and there's still plenty of summer left for the Panthers to figure out who they are before Week 1 actually counts.
