Live updates, Panthers vs. Bills NFL preseason game: Carolina wins injury-filled game
LIVE UPDATES FOR THIS GAME HAVE ENDED. FOR A RECAP OF THE GAME ACTION, CLICK HERE.
The Carolina Panthers’ final preseason game against the Buffalo Bills, scheduled for a 7 p.m. kickoff, was delayed for slightly more than 30 minutes before beginning in front of a stadium that was less than half full.
But once the game started, quarterback Baker Mayfield made the home fans who came happy they had stuck around. Mayfield threw two first-half touchdown passes on four drives in his home debut before retiring for the night late in the second quarter. Carolina led at halftime, 14-0.
Here’s a look at how the game has unfolded. Most recent updates are at the top.
Teams trade punts
The fourth quarter was mostly uneventful Friday, with the teams’ reserves trading ineffective drives. Most importantly for both teams, after Sam Darnold’s injury forced him to be carted off the field, neither team suffered any more injuries.
Darnold hurt
C.J. Brewer pressured Sam Darnold and appeared to roll over the quarterback’s left ankle as he fell to the turf, and Darnold went down hard. He immediately called for a trainer, and had to be helped to a cart. He was carted off the field to applause from the crowd, but he was not moving his left leg.
Darnold joined Zane Gonzalez, Derrick Brown and Giovanni Ricci in the locker room with injuried suffered Friday night. Gonzalez suffered his injury while taking a practice kick on the sideline.
Darnold scores
Sam Darnold managed a pair of first downs on the Panthers’ first series of the second half after a pair of key first-down pickups. The first was on an 8-yard pass out in the left flat to Giovanni Ricci. The second came on a 3rd-and-12 pickup on a pass to the right side to running back John Lovett.
Lovett followed that with four consecutive runs to get the Panthers inside the 10, and Darnold ran around the left side on a 1-yard run to score a touchdown. With Gonzalez out, Johnny Hekker booted the extra point, and the Panthers took a 21-0 lead.
Gonzalez, Ricci hurt
The Panthers special teams may have taken a hit Friday night. Kicker Zane Gonzalez appeared to be hurt after the kickoff in the second half. He was attended to by trainers for a good long while before hobbling to a cart that whisked him off the field. Gonzalez appeared to be holding his upper leg on his right side.
His 2021 NFL season ended on Dec. 21 with a freak injury to his quad during warmups — also against the Bills.
On Friday, Gonzalez was officially listed as “questionable to return” in the third quarter by what the team is calling a groin injury.
Defense answers second-half bell
The Bills began the second half with decent field position after a return of 32 yards from the goal line, and an offside penalty on the Panthers on the kick. A healthy dose of Raheem Blackshear early in the drive helped the Bills move to near midfield, but the drive stalled after a nine-yard sack by Marquan McCall on fourth down. The Panthers took over on downs.
Derrick Brown injured
Early in the third quarter, the Panthers announced Derrick Brown, who earlier had a sack in this game, would not return to action after suffering an oblique injury.
Darnold takes over
Backup quarterback Sam Darnold took over for Carolina’s final series of the first half, running a two-minute drill that began with 1:35 on the clock. The drive went nowhere, as a 3rd-and-4 play at the Carolina 32 short-circuited after Darnold slipped in the pocket, then got up to find no one open.
Chinn gets interception, sets up 2nd TD
Carolina’s starting defense dominated in the first three series while playing against Buffalo’s reserves. After forcing two quick punts, on Buffalo’s third series a tipped ball led to an interception by Carolina safety Jeremy Chinn early in the second quarter. Mayfield then came on for his fourth and final series of the night, early in the second quarter.
On a third-and-2, Mayfield then found a wide-open Shi Smith for a 19-yard touchdown pass. The extra point gave Carolina a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter. Mayfield at that point was 9-for-15 throwing the ball for 89 yards and two touchdowns while facing Buffalo’s second-team defense, and that ended his home debut.
Third drive a dud
Mayfield started his third series at the Carolina 8. He got one first down on a screen to Hubbard — being heavily used since Christian McCaffrey didn’t play — and then had a nice scramble in which he knocked over a Bills defender at the end of the play while trying to get to the sideline. On 3rd-and-3, Carolina wasn’t able to get it on a fullback dive and punted the ball.
Good start for Baker
Buffalo kicked off to the Panthers at 7:37 p.m., with Mayfield trotting out with the Carolina offense for the first series. His first pass of the night was dropped by running back Chuba Hubbard, and his first series was a 3-and-out after a short completion to tight end Tommy Tremble and two incompletions, the second after Mayfield, announced as Carolina’s starter earlier in the week, bobbled a shotgun snap and threw the ball late.
Mayfield’s second series was much more productive. He converted one third down to get inside the Buffalo 30. Hubbard then dropped his second pass of the night, which would have put Carolina inside Buffalo’s 10. Another third-down pass to Hubbard was short of the first-down marker, setting up 4th-and-3 at the Buffalo 15.
Panther head coach Matt Rhule decided to go for it, and Buffalo jumped offsides to set Carolina up with a first-and-goal at the Buffalo 10.
Eventually, Carolina found itself with a fourth-and-goal at the 2, and Rhule went for it once more.
Mayfield took the snap, faked a handoff to D’Onta Foreman and then threw it to him for a 2-yard TD — Mayfield’s first TD pass of any type in a Panther uniform. The ball was slightly behind Foreman, but the running back reached back and made a nice catch with his right hand. The extra point gave Carolina an early 7-0 lead with 6:05 left in the first quarter.
Lightning delay details
For the lightning delay, players went back to their locker room at 6:29 p.m. and fans were instructed to shelter in place, with many already in the stadium and sheltered under the concourses.
A game being delayed at Bank of America Stadium has been a familiar sight this summer, as the MLS team Charlotte FC has had similar delays several times. In one case, Charlotte FC had four hours worth of lightning delays and had to have a regular-season game postponed until another date. If there is another lightning strike within an 8-mile radius of the stadium, another 30-minute delay will ensue.
Buffalo punter? It’s the backup QB
Buffalo punter Matt Araiza didn’t play in the Bills-Carolina game. Araiza, who was accused in a lawsuit Thursday of raping a 17-year-old girl when he was at San Diego State last year, according to ESPN, did not dress for the game but did travel with the Bills. Araiza denied the accuracy of the lawsuit in a statement to ESPN.
Araiza had been announced as the Bills’ starting punter earlier in the week, and the Bills had no other punter on the roster. Buffalo ended up with a 3rd-and-11 on its first offensive series, called a timeout and then threw an incompletion. On fourth down, Buffalo third-string quarterback Matt Barkley punted the ball for a respectable 33 yards.
On the Bills’ second series, Panther defensive tackle Derrick Brown had a 10-yard sack of backup quarterback Case Keenum. Buffalo ended up with a 4th-and-7 and Barkley came out for a second time, this time hitting a wobbler that bounced forever and went for 53 yards before being downed at the Carolina 8.
Buffalo nearly got on the board on its fourth possession with Keenum (starter Josh Allen never played for precautionary reasons). The Bills converted one fourth-and-1 play during their drive, but on a second fourth-and-1 try inside the 10 the Panthers defense overwhelmed Buffalo’s offensive line, and running back Duke Johnson was stopped for a loss.
Panthers inactives
McCaffrey, receiver Robbie Anderson, linebacker Shaq Thompson, receiver Andre Roberts, receiver Brandon Zylstra, tight end Ian Thomas, tight end Colin Thompson, defensive end Amaré Barno, linebacker Isaiah Graham-Mobley, running back Spencer Brown, safety Sam Franklin Jr, linebacker Julian Stanford, and center Bradley Bozeman all will not play. McCaffrey, as in 2021, did not play a single snap in any of the three preseason games as Carolina tries to keep him healthy.
Receiver Shi Smith will start. Pat Elflein will start at center. Hubbard will start for McCaffrey. Giovanni Ricci will start in place of Thomas. Cory Littleton will start at linebacker. Buffalo barely played any of its starters.
This story was originally published August 26, 2022 at 6:50 PM.