Buffalo Rumblings
The Buffalo Bills (4-2) are in Charlotte, fresh off a bye and ready to take on the Carolina Panthers (4-3) this afternoon. While this is one of the rarer matchups in the NFL — Sunday’s game represents just the ninth meeting all-time — these are two teams that have a lot of common connections.
Let’s revisit the series history, relive some of the more memorable matchups, break down those common connections, and go through the list of players who played for both teams. Hint: there are 65 players who saw action for both the Bills and Panthers.
This is one of the newer rivalries in franchise history, with the Panthers coming into the NFL as an expansion franchise for the 1995 NFL season.
The Bills and Panthers have met eight times before, with Buffalo prevailing in six of the eight matchups. The Bills have won three of the last four contests against their NFC South counterparts, including a 31-14 triumph on December 19, 2021 in the most recent showdown.
Josh Allen completed 19-of-34 passes for 210 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, and Devin Singletary rushed 22 times for 86 yards and a touchdown. Allen tossed two touchdown passes to Gabe Davis and found Stefon Diggs for an 11-yard touchdown toss in the second quarter as the Bills took a 17-8 lead into halftime following a scoreless first quarter.
Davis hauled in a 20-yard pass and scored the only points of the third quarter as Buffalo went up 24-8 heading into the final stanza. Carolina sliced the lead to 24-14 when Cam Newton connected with Ameer Abdullah from 23 yards out early in the fourth, but a 14-yard touchdown strike from Allen to Davis put away the Panthers for good late in the fourth quarter as the Bills improved to 8-6 on the season.
Newton did not enjoy one of his better performances in Buffalo, as the Bills harassed him all game long, sacking him four times. Efe Obada took down Newton twice, while Taron Johnson and former Panther Star Lotulelei each added a sack. A.J. Klein recorded an interception as Buffalo held Newton to 18-of-38 passing for 156 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Newton was also Carolina’s leading rusher with 15 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown.
The last time these teams met in Charlotte was Week 2 of the 2017 NFL season, and it was a kickers duel, with the Panthers riding three Graham Gano field goals to a 9-3 triumph over the Tyrod Taylor-led Bills. Buffalo was shutout for the first 49 minutes of the game as Taylor was ineffective leading the offense. He was sacked three times and averaged only five yards per attempt in completing 17-of-25 passes for 125 yards. Taylor was also the Bills’ leading rusher (eight carries for 55 yards) as Carolina bottled up LeSean McCoy (12 carries for nine yards). McCoy was Buffalo’s leading receiver on the day, catching six passes for...
