Bills at Panthers: Highlights, score and recap

The Carolina Panthers survive the Buffalo Bills on Sunday afternoon, 9-3. Here are all the highlights, the game recap and the final score.

This game was about two things: field goals and defense. That’s sort of what we expected in two defensive-minded head coaches going at it in Ron Rivera of the Carolina Panthers and Sean McDermott with his new team in the Buffalo Bills.

There were only 12 points in the game. Carolina kicker Graham Gano made all three of this field goal attempts. Stephen Hauschka made his long field goal attempt for the Bills. So there you have it. The Panthers survive at home versus the Bills, 9-3 on Sunday afternoon in Week 2.

Defensively, both teams had to like what the saw out of their players. Rivera should be happy with the job Julius Peppers, James Bradberry and Thomas Davis had on Sunday. For McDermott, he should be proud of the job that Jordan Poyer, Ramon Humber and Lorenzo Alexander had.

As for the starting quarterbacks, both Cam Newton and Tyrod Taylor left a lot to be desired. Newton was sacked six times. Taylor only averaged 5.0 yards per attempt. Both teams are going to struggle to win games with more offensive performances like this.

Carolina improves to a very soft 2-0, while Buffalo looks like a bad 1-1. Though it was a competitive game that came down to the final Bills’ possession, this was easily the least entertaining game of the 1:00 p.m. ET slot on Sunday in Week 2.

Three Stars

1. Julius Peppers: Peppers had six tackles, four solo, two quarterback sacks, two quarterback hits and a tackle for a loss of yardage.
2. Jordan Poyer: Poyer had a game-high 11 tackles, seven solo, three passes defended, one sack, one quarterback hit and a tackle for a loss of yardage.
3. Graham Gano: Gano was three for three on field goals. His long was 34 yards.

Highlights

Next Game

The Bills will host the Denver Broncos on Sunday in Week 3. Kickoff from New Era Field in Orchard Park will be at 1:00 p.m. ET on September 24. CBS will have the telecast of that AFC matchup.

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The Panthers will host their NFC South rival in the New Orleans Saints on Sunday in Week 3. Kickoff from Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte will be at 1:00 p.m. ET on September 24. FOX will have the telecast of the NFC South rivalry game.