Carolina Panthers win nailbiter over Buffalo Bills, 28-23

It was a shootout, but the Carolina Panthers came out on the winning end, 28-23…

It was not pretty, but the Carolina Panthers got the job done in their first game of the preseason. Playing on the road against the Buffalo Bills, they won by a 28-23 score.

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After Kelvin Benjamin (of all people) secured the first touchdown grab of the game on a pass from Nathan Peterman, the Carolina Panthers would answer right back. Christian McCaffrey ran the ball from two yards out for the first Panthers score of the season and tied the game at seven.

It was all Bills in the second quarter as they began their scoring on a field goal from Steven Hauschka at the 8:26 mark. Marcus Murphy pounded the rock for a seven-yard touchdown run with 2:27 left in the frame to take the Bills into the locker room with a 17-7 halftime lead.

Something tells me the Buffalo Bills wished they did not come out for the second half as the Carolina Panthers onslaught began. The only score of the third frame was a 26-yard strike to Moses Frazier from the arm of Garrett Gilbert. The strike made it a 17-10 game as the Panthers inched closer.

The Carolina Panthers acquired C.J. Anderson in the offseason for a reason, and that reason was to score touchdowns. He did just that to open up the scoring in the fourth frame, putting the Panthers ahead 21-17 in what was a seesaw game. Something tells me he will fit in Carolina quite nicely.

Speaking of fitting in Carolina nicely, Elijah Hood would be the next Carolina Panthers’ player to reach the end zone as the former Carolina high school legend was on the receiving end of a Taylor Heinicke 21- yard strike to add to the Carolina Panthers lead and make it a 28-17 contest. The Bills would not go down quietly however. Ray Ray McCloud III caught a pass from former Wyoming star and top Bills draft pick Josh Allen for a 14-yard score. That made the game 28-23 with 1:10 left in the contest.

Thankfully, the defense was able to hold strong, and the Carolina Panthers were able to leave New York with a 28-23 win and a perfect record to start the (very early) preseason.

All things considered, the play of the backup quarterbacks was good tonight. Heinicke finished the game 7-for 9, throwing for 121 yards and a touchdown. Garrett Gilbert finished the contest going 7-for-12, throwing for 93 yards and a touchdown. Cam Newton was his usual self, going 6-for-9, throwing for 84 yards, while Kyle Allen did not complete his only pass attempt.

D.J. Moore really impressed catching four passes for 75 yards while Curtis Samuel caught four balls for 39 yards. Those were two guys worth watching Thursday and they did a nice job for the most part.

Colin Jones and Lorenzo Doss each had five tackles to pace the Carolina Panther defense. At least Thursday, Doss showed that his great training camp was not a fluke. Vernon Butler and Jermaine Carter each had a sack as the duo showed they could be valuable pieces for the defense and could be counted on when called upon.

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Overall, the Carolina Panthers need to clean up some things, but they showed many good things as well that they can carry over to the next game. They will play the Miami Dolphins in the preseason home opener on August 17 at 7:30 PM ET.

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