Rush Review: Buffalo 27 Carolina 14

Preseason

The Carolina Panthers came out with low energy and poor execution on their first couple series on both sides of the ball to be down by 10 points very early in the first quarter and never recovered in a 27-14 home loss against the Buffalo Bills at Bank of America Stadium on this past Friday night.

It was announced an hour before kickoff that QB Cam Newton, TE Greg Olsen, RB Christian McCaffrey, LB Luke Kuechly and LB Shaq Thompson were sitting out this game to minimize unnecessary risks at this point during the preseason. This opened up opportunities for key rotational players and depth guys to make an impact. However, watching this game over again was bitter and head scratching as numerous fundamental mistakes repeated themselves. The remaining expected starters on offense and defense played the first three series yet could only muster a few good plays here and there as their on performance lacked intensity and effectiveness. This energy just seemed to carry over to the 2nd and 3rd units for the remainder of the game. All three phases of the team took their turns at disappointing the hometown crowd who had been eagerly awaiting a solid showing. The dominating playmaking that the Panthers had in the two joint practices leading up to this preseason game did not transfer over to the actual game.

Here are the typical statistical numbers from the game by ESPN:

Matchup
1st Downs 20 18
Passing 1st downs 12 9
Rushing 1st downs 6 5
1st downs from penalties 2 4
3rd down efficiency 6-13 2-13
4th down efficiency 0-0 1-2
Total Plays 63 66
Total Yards 373 258
Total Drives 11 12
Yards per Play 5.9 3.9
Passing 279 155
Comp-Att 21-31 22-42
Yards per pass 8.7 3.4
Interceptions thrown 1 1
Sacks-Yards Lost 1-1 3-30
Rushing 94 103
Rushing Attempts 31 21
Yards per rush 3.0 4.9
Red Zone (Made-Att) 2-4 1-2
Penalties 11-100 7-62
Turnovers 2 1
Fumbles lost 1 0
Interceptions thrown 1 1
Defensive / Special Teams TDs 1 0
Possession 31:40 28:20
Here are the stats that The 4 Man Rush are tracking on offensive personnel groupings and defensive personnel alignments:
12 personnel (1 RB 2 TE 2 WR) was used on five plays with two runs and three passes. QB was under center four times and in shotgun one time.
11 personnel (1 RB 1 TE 3 WR) was used on 43 plays with seven runs and 36 passes. QB was under center two times and in shotgun 41 times.
21 personnel (2 RB 1 TE 2 WR) was used on eight plays with four runs and four passes. QB was under center seven times and in shotgun one time.
22 personnel (2 RB 2 TE 1 WR) was used on two plays which both was runs. QB was under center on both plays.
3-4 base personnel (3 defensive linemen 4 linebackers 4 defensive backs) was used on 19 defensive snaps.
4-2 nickel personnel (4 defensive linemen 2 linebackers 5 defensive backs) was used on 39 defensive snaps.
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