Off of the heels of a successful Hall of Fame Game performance, the Carolina Panthers looked to continue to roll heading into Buffalo. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan.
Dave Canales set a range of 10-20 “good plays” he wanted to see from the starters, and most fans can agree that neither side but forth an effort to earn those good reps.
Carolina’s defense got gashed in the pass game, but was able to get consistent pressure on Josh Allen in the red zone. The offense, however, was a different story.
Between penalties and poor performances, Carolina’s starting unit went onto the brand new field at Buffalo’s new Highmark Stadium and converted a whopping zero first downs on three drives.
Bryce Young was pressured on seemingly every dropback, only going 3/5 for 18 yards and registering a sack. The run game got stuffed on 2/3 of Jonathon Brooks’ attempts, netting the talented back only five rushing yards in his first action since 2024.
Whether or not you want to debate if the sky is falling down for the team, there were real issues on display. Perhaps the most unfortunate part is that these issues have been discussed by fans throughout the past few seasons, and haven’t been adequately addressed.
Let’s take a look at some of Carolina’s biggest blunders in this contest.
Guard Depth
I’d like to preface this point by acknowledging the absence of starters Damien Lewis and Rob Hunt in this game. Having both starting guards likely would’ve made a difference in this contest.
The duo’s absence in this contest, however, is a key factor in the issue of Carolina’s guard depth. Hunt missed almost the entirety of last season, and Lewis has hardly practiced in training camp this year.
It isn’t a guarantee that both players will be healthy for all 17 regular season contests.
Once you get past those two on the depth chart, it starts to get pretty bad in a hurry. Brady Christensen has been a valuable backup, but is still coming off of an Achilles injury he suffered midway through last season. Hopefully he will return to form.
Carolina’s biggest problem is this area is their lack of development, particularly with fourth-year guard Chandler Zavala. Zavala is the only other remaining member of the 2023 Draft Class (Bryce Young).
Hailing from NC State where he played alongside Ickey Ekwonu, Zavala has spent the last three seasons as a backup guard for the Panthers, filling in for the infinite OL injuries the team has been subjected to.
Zavala’s play has mostly been below average to poor over that time frame, never really taking a step to push either guard starter for playing time.
He’s had his moments, like in the Hall of Fame Game, but against NFL-caliber starters, it hasn’t looked great. This wouldn’t be the biggest of issues if Zavala were OL10 or beyond, but currently he’s slated to be the primary backup at both guard spots.
If Hunt or Lewis miss extended periods of time, having Zavala be one of the lynchpin players along the offensive line does not bode well for the offense.
On Monday (8.17) the team tried him at center in practice, seemingly trying to find a positive role for the fourth-year guard. Center depth is less of a question with the acquisitions of Luke Fortner and Sam Hecht, but maybe that’s where Zavala can have a role.
This isn’t an exercise just to harp on Zavala, but rather point out that he is the key backup to a position already exposed to injury. If Carolina doesn’t bolster the interior offensive line depth, it could come back to haunt them mid-season.
Defensive Scheme
Carolina’s other main blemish in this contest was the defense, specifically the scheme.
Let me be clear - I’m not expecting Carolina to run a ton of post-snap movements, send fire blitzes every down, or try to do something too exotic in the preseason.
But can we stop doing stuff like this? Giving almost ten yards of cushion on a 4th and 3 is asking the other team if they’d like to convert for free.
This play is probably an extreme example, but the pass defense was consistently carved up throughout the afternoon. When the starters were in, both Jaycee Horn and Mike Jackson seemed to be out of place, leading to big pass plays for Buffalo.
Again, it is just the preseason. But playing more soft zone looks will only lead to smart quarterbacks and coordinators carving the defense up.
Now that Carolina has invested in players like Phillips and Lloyd, the need to rely so heavily on zone needs to dwindle. Horn and Jackson are some of the best physical corners in the league - it’s time to let them man up more often.
Like the guard depth issues, the defensive scheme has been a point of contention among Panthers fans for the past few years. Hopefully with higher-paid and performing talent, more diverse calls can be implemented to try and disrupt offenses, rather than letting them disrupt the Panthers.
Good Stuff
While the game was largely a blowout, there were still bright spots for Panthers fans to cheer for:
Jaelan Phillips played like he was worth every penny of his $30 million per year deal. In just a handful of pass rush snaps, Phillips recorded a couple pressures and his first sack as a Panther.
Just like Phillips, Princely Umanmielen answered the call filling in for the injured Pat Jones II. Umanmielen fought past the Bills’ starting offensive line to pressure Josh Allen a few times as well, including the pressure that led to Phillips’ sack.
Devin Lloyd also looks to be worth his deal, flying down to fit the run and looked rangy in coverage.
Ja’Seem Reed and John Metchie III both continued to impress, each hauling in a touchdown. The back end of the receiver room will be heavily contested between the young receivers.
Just like in Canton, Zakee Wheatley continued to fly around making plays in both the run and pass game. Wheatley could be an important contributor in the secondary this season.
Finally, and perhaps most importantly, first round draft selection Monroe Freeling looked the part with the starters. During his first NFL reps, Freeling held his own against guys like Greg Rosseau and Bradley Chubb. If Freeling looks like this during some of his first snaps at right tackle in the NFL, the ceiling will be pretty high.
Looking Ahead to Jacksonville
Fortunately, the NFL is a week-to-week game, and Carolina will have a chance to put the Buffalo game in the rearview mirror in Jacksonville. The Panthers flew down to Florida and have begun their joint practices with the Jags as of Wednesday (8.19).
Jacksonville will present a unique challenge for this group. Liam Coen had the offense firing on all cylinders last season, and defensive play-caller Anthony Campanile brought new energy to the defense. This will be quite the litmus test for the Panthers.
Some of the things that I’d like to see include:
How does Carolina’s offensive line hold up against the physical defensive front of Jacksonville? Particularly, how does Monroe Freeling fare against Josh Hines-Allen and Travon Walker?
How will Evero’s defense attempt to contain a high-octane Jaguars offense? Now that he has the pieces at every level of the defense, can the scheme actually shut down a good offensive team?
Which receivers will separate themselves? Jacksonville’s weaknesses on defense can allow for big gains downfield, so who among the receiver group can take a lead in the position battle?
Devin Lloyd’s return to where he was drafted. Can Lloyd show both Jags and Panthers fans that his AP All-Pro selection last season was just the beginning?
Early returns from the joint practices do not look great according to social media.
For Carolina, hopefully they can rectify the mistakes over the next two days and into the preseason matchup against their fellow Class of ‘95 Jacksonville Jaguars. Another drubbing like what the team saw in Buffalo can’t happen.
Ultimately, this is still just training camp/preseason, but good teams practice how they play. If the Panthers want to avoid a third consecutive slow start to the season in the Morgan/Canales/Young era, then something has to change for the better.