We asked Carolina Panthers cornerback Jaycee Horn what went wrong in the team’s debilitating 40-9 loss to the Buffalo Bills on Sunday. His short answer – “Everything.” That’s putting it likely. In a game that was expecting to be far closer than the score indicated, the Panthers faltered in nearly every phase of the game. Undefeated at home and riding a 3-game win streak, Carolina would have to try to take down reigning MVP Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills without starting quarterback Bryce Young. After leaving last week’s win over the New York Jets, Young has been sidelined with an ankle injury and Andy Dalton got the start in his place.
Dalton struggled, throwing an intercepting and losing two fumbles while being sacked seven times. The most pivotal sack came on 3rd-and-goal from the 4-yard line with 17 seconds remaining in the first half. Down 19-3, Dalton – a 14-year veteran – took a sack with no remaining timeouts. Kicker Ryan Fitzgerald rushed a field goal attempt that sailed wide right and the Panthers came away empty handed. A rush attack that has seen running back Rico Dowdle rush for 468 yards over the past three games was stifled by a Bills team that came into the game ranked No.31 in run defense. With starter Chuba Hubbard back in the mix, the Panthers have employed an alternating series rotation that has yet to bear significant fruit. Dowdle only had eight carries for 54 yards while Hubbard had twelve carries for 34 yards. Dalton looked inept despite his years of experience and fumbled in the red zone, leading to the field goal to give the Bills a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. The closest the Panthers got was within three points early in the second quarter when Fitzgerald connected on a 48-yard field goal.
Bills running back James Cook broke free up the middle for a 64-yard touchdown run to give the Bills a 12-3 with 7:23 to go in the second quarter. After trading punts, Dalton was intercepted by A.J. Epenesa and he returned the ball all the way to Carolina’s 1-yard line. One play later, Allen punched it in for the touchdown to put the Bills up 19-3 with 1:50 left in the first half. On the Panthers final possession of the half, they got all the way to the 4-yard line before Dalton was sacked with no timeouts and Fitzgerald missed the field goal as time expired.
The second half was no better as Buffalo got the ball first out of the intermission and added another huge play as Allen connected with Khalil Shakir on a 54-yard score to push the lead to 23. As a matter of fact, Buffalo scored touchdowns on three of their four third quarter possessions as they blew the game open. Cook and Allen both scored their second rushing touchdowns of the day. On the first play from scrimmage following Cook’s score, Dalton was strip sacked at the Carolina 19 yard line, giving Buffalo a short field and Allen took advantage from 1-yard out a few plays later to push the score to 40-3 with an entire fourth quarter left to play.
Carolina did not get into the end zone until the 10:33 mark of the fourth quarter as Hubbard punched it in from 3 yards out. Fitzgerald missed the extra point and the final score of the day was 40-9. To add insult to injury, literally, the Panthers lost three starting offensive linemen during the game. Cade Mays (ankle), Taylor Moton (knee), and Brady Christensen (Achilles) all left the game early. Panthers head coach Dave Canales shared with media that Christensen suffered a ruptured Achilles and will be out for the season.
Dalton finished with 175 yards on 16-of-24 passing and a rating of 70.7, while Allen finished with 163 yards on 12-of-19 passing and one passing touchdown to go with his two rushing scores. The hot hand was Cook, who rushed for 216 yards and two scores. This was the first home loss this season for Carolina and they have to flush it quickly before hitting the road to face the Green Bay Packers in Week Nine.
