Carolina Panthers studs & duds from a sobering loss to the Buffalo Bills

The Carolina Panthers had a three-game winning streak going into today's game against the Buffalo Bills. It didn't take long for reality to come crashing down on any hopes of an upset to extend that streak to four, though.

The Bills dominated the Panthers from the opening kickoff to the last whistle, ending in a 40-9 victory for the visitors.

The absence of starting quarterback Bryce Young was felt acutely on the field, but even Young at his best probably wouldn't have made up for Carolina's awful game on the other side of the ball.

Let's break down this week's studs and duds for the Panthers.

Dud: QB Andy Dalton

After Bryce Young's hot finish to the 2024 season there was a case to add a younger backup quarterback who could grow behind him. However, the Panthers went in a different direction, doubling down on Andy Dalton's experience even though he's long past his prime.

Today that decision stood out as a fumble, as Dalton's lack of mobility was a serious handicap and his experience didn't stop him from making several huge, inexcusable mistakes. Dalton threw a nice ball or two, but he ended with an ugly line of 16/24 for 175 yards, no touchdowns, one interception, one fumble, seven sacks and a 70.7 passer rating.

Stud: RB Rico Dowdle

Once again, the Panthers embraced the inexplicable rotating drives gameplan at running back, and the same dynamic played out as last week. Rico Dowdle is still a far better running back than Chuba Hubbard right now. This time around Dowdle averaged a monster 6.8 yards per carry, but he only got eight attempts compared to 12 for Hubbard.

Dud: RB Chuba Hubbard

While Dowdle was explosive and efficient, Hubbard was once again stuck in neutral as he has been all season. Hubbard came into this game with zero explosive runs on the year while averaging just 3.7 yards per carry. He left the game wit the same number of explosive carries, and managed just 2.8 yards per attempt.

Stud: WR Tetairoa McMillan

There was at least one standout for Carolina's offense, today. As usual, it was rookie wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan, who somehow managed to post a couple of highlight reel catches in the middle of Andy Dalton's struggles. McMillan ended the afternoon with seven receptions for a game-high 99 yards on 10 targets.

Dud: Panthers run defense

The Panthers suffered a huge setback in an area they had been thriving in the last few weeks. After stuffing the Cowboys, Dolphins and the Jets on the ground, they got walloped by the Bills' rushing attack. James Cook led the way here, racking up 153 yards and a touchdown before halftme. DJ Wonnum and Tre'Von Moehrig missed on a couple big runs, but this failure was a total team effort. Buffalo ended the game with 245 yards and four rushing touchdowns.

Stud: LB Trevin Wallace

Overall it was a pretty rough performance from the Panthers defense, but there was one exception to the rule. Middle linebacker Trevin Wallace continues to perform well since taking on the green dot role for Ejiro Evero's defense. Wallace took his lumps today like everyone else, but he also finished with seven tackles, including a sack on Josh Allen.

Dud: Panthers injuries

If the end result wasn't bad enough, the Panthers had multiple injuries added to the insult. Several key players went down over the course of the game, including defensive tackle Derrick Brown, who left with a knee injury in the fourth quarter. Offensive lineman Brady Christensen was also carted off in the second half with what turned out to be a season-ending Achilles injury. Right tackle Taylor Moton also left the game with a knee injury. Center Cade Mays, wide receiver Jimmy Horn Jr. and linebacker Trevin Wallace were also banged up.

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