Not only did the Carolina Panthers close up shop on the 2022 preseason with a victory on Friday night, but they also closed up with a number of intriguing developments to move forward on.
Here are the top takeaways from the 21-0 win over the Buffalo Bills.e
Offense bakes
Baker Mayfield took the Bank of America Stadium turf for the first time as Carolina’s official starting quarterback. And he did not disappoint.
The offense quickly put an opening three-and-out behind them, hitting the end zone on two of their next four drives behind Mayfield. Running back D’Onta Foreman secured a 2-yard touchdown pass on the first visit.
An interception from safety Jeremy Chinn would then lead to that second score two touches later. From Buffalo’s 19-yard line, Mayfield pulled out some of his patented improv and connected with wide receiver Shi Smith for a sharp 19-yard touchdown strike.
Mayfield finished the night having completed nine of his 15 throws for 89 yards. As a unit, the first-team offense converted on three of their seven third down tries as well as their lone fourth down attempt (the Foreman touchdown).
Now, this wasn’t the Bills’ starting defense Mayfield cooked on. But this is precisely what the Panthers probably wanted to see in his first piece of extended action as their guy.
Offensive line holds
Mayfield was able to cook due, in part, to his sturdy offensive line.
While the group could’ve generated a bit more of a push in the ground game, they kept their starter quite clean and allowed zero sacks. In fact, the entire trench—depth and all—went on to allow zero sacks for the rest of the night.
There will, obviously, be tougher battles ahead for this line. But Friday night was a step in the right direction.
. . . and so does the defense
Carolina’s starting defense shined as well.
We’ve already mentioned that Chinn pick—a timely turnover that set the offense up for a three-play, 27-yard touchdown drive. (Props to defensive linemen Yetur Gross-Matos and Matt Ioannidis for starting the tip drill, by the way.)
The bigger stop, though, might’ve come on the next Bills touch—an almost 11-minute possession that ate up 71 yards of field and resulted in zero points. On the 19th play of the trek, linebacker Frankie Luvu—who was all over the place tonight—and safety Xavier Woods halted running back Duke Johnson for a 2-yard loss on a 4th & 1 try.
This Panthers defense suffered from a lack of “dawg in them” for much of the 2021 season. But they might’ve found one in Luvu, who will see an increased role on the unit this year.
Injuries stink
The injury bug really got to Carolina tonight, starting with defensive tackle Derrick Brown. Luckily, however, his oblique injury wasn’t deemed as a serious one and was held out for precautionary measures.
Kicker Zane Gonzalez and backup quarterback Sam Darnold, unfortunately, weren’t as lucky. Gonzalez went down with a groin injury while warming up and Darnold left the game after Bills defensive tackle C.J. Brewer rolled over his ankle in the third quarter.
Both men were carted off into the locker room and the severity of their injuries, as stated by head coach Matt Rhule afterwards, are still unknown.
