South Charlotte Today

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — A look inside the numbers from Saturday's 31-26 road win over the Bills.

The Panthers totaled 414 yards of total offense in Saturday's game, the most since Week 16 of the 2022 season against the Lions (570). The last time the Panthers scored four touchdowns was in Week 16 of the 2023 season against the Packers. The last time they scored three passing touchdowns was in Week 5 against the Lions.

Quarterback Bryce Young played only 12 snaps but put together an 85-yard drive, capping it with a touchdown and a 140.6 passer rating. It's his best passer rating since entering the NFL. Young averaged 8.75 yards per pass, a number he reached only once last season, in Week 16 versus Green Bay. Young and the offense capped the opening drive with a touchdown, a feat that was never accomplished in 2023. The Panthers managed three field goals in their first drives in 2023.

Rookie quarterback Jack Plummer was outstanding. Coming on for the second series and playing the rest of the way, Plummer was 21-of-29 passing for 278 yards and two touchdowns. His passer rating was 125.4. "Jack did his thing today," wide receiver Diontae Johnson said with a nod of respect. Plummer's 278 yards were the most by a Panthers QB in preseason since at least 2018.

The Panthers finished with 340 net passing yards, their highest since Week 3 of the 2020 season when Teddy Bridgewater achieved it. In comparison to last year, Bryce Young's highest net yardage was Week 16 versus Green Bay (298) and Andy Dalton’s was Week 3 versus Seattle (334).

The offense had twenty-two first downs, surpassed only three times in all of last year: Week 3 versus Seattle (23), Week 5 versus Detroit (26), and Week 16 versus Green Bay (26). The team converted eight out of thirteen third-down attempts, achieving a conversion rate of sixty-two percent—their best since Week 7 of the 2020 season against New Orleans Saints (67 percent).

Tight end Jesper Horsted reeled in a thirty-eight-yard reception during Q3—his longest career reception—and finished with sixty-three receiving yards leading his team.

Sixteen different Panther receivers recorded receptions; seven players finished with twenty or more receiving yards each.

Defensively, Carolina recorded three sacks against Buffalo—their highest this preseason—with safety Rudy Ford leading all tacklers tallying six total tackles.

In terms of snap counts and playtime percentage for week three:

Wide receiver Diontae Johnson notably participated fully alongside Bryce Young during every offensive snap on their first drive; Adam Thielen missed one snap while Chuba Hubbard missed two snaps indicating potential rotation through personnel groupings despite Johnson being perceived as pivotal per training camp observations thus far.

Ike Boettger & Mason Brooks deserve credit too: both players who joined just before facing Jets managed adequate learning curves towards functionality under pressure conditions hence covering many crucial snaps warranting due respect acknowledgment thereof

Similarly regarding defensive lineups including Derrick Brown maintaining eighty-six-point-seven percent involvement throughout initial fifteen plays congruent prior year's eighty-nine percent overall workload showing remarkable endurance relative physique size constraints noted within context hereof

Notably joining late arrivals yet performing commendably include Quandre Mosely & Chris Wilcox contributing significantly amid current match setup scenario akin described earlier examples

Punter Johnny Hekker typically shares equal participation alongside long-snapper JJ Jansen except recent additional kickoff duties extending individual contributions beyond usual expectations mentioned herein likewise aforementioned scenarios involving newly arrived contributors like linebacker Aaron Beasley undertaking special teams' responsibilities immediately upon arrival underscoring adaptability under constrained preparation timelines evident within analyzed event framework detailed above comprehensively evaluated therein accordingly