Well, that happened. The Carolina Panthers lost to the Buffalo Bills 27-14 tonight in one of the ugliest preseason games you will ever see.
Here are some winners and losers from the game.
Losers: Kyle Allen and Will Grier
There’s no getting around it. These two absolutely stunk up the joint. Together, Allen and Grier combined to go 14/30 for 107 yards, no touchdowns and one excruciating pick six from Grier.
Given Carolina invested a third-round pick in him, Grier is probably more safe than Allen as far as the roster cuts to come go. That said, he doesn’t look ready to be out there right now. Consider him purely a project quarterback at this time.
Winner: Taylor Heinicke
This one might have been a total loss for the passing offense if not for Heinicke’s fourth quarter. He was more dynamic, more poised and more accurate than Allen or Grier, completing eight of 12 passes for 78 yards, one touchdown and a 112.5 passer rating, compared with 44.9 for Allen and 40.5 for Grier.
Loser: The backup inside linebackers
Jermaine Carter Jr. and Andre Smith started instead of Luke Kuechly and Shaq Thompson at the inside linebacker spots. It could have gone better for them. Both struggled in coverage and kept getting exploited by Buffalo’s receivers, especially Cole Beasley.
Winner: The running backs
While the pass attack was pretty much a disaster, the Panthers’ run game was actually relatively strong. Jordan Scarlett, Cameron Artis-Payne, Elijah Holyfield and Reggie Bonnafon all had respectable yards per carry averages. The team managed 4.9 for the game. Bonnafon flashed as a receiver as well, totaling 32 yards on four catches.
Loser: The first-string offensive line
Not great, Bob!
Winner: The defensive line veterans
Josh Allen and Cole Beasley both gave the starting defense some trouble early on. However, the front line held up when it needed to. Bruce Irvin, Mario Addison and Kawann Short all came up with stops on Buffalo’s opening drive, which ended in a field goal.
