Panthers steal win from Bills late, 25-24

In a Nutshell: In a game where neither team ever led by more than a touchdown, Buffalo looked like they had put the final points on the board late in the third quarter as a 51-yard touchdown pass from EJ Manuel to Deonte Thompson looked like it would be the difference putting the Bills ahead 24-17. But with under a minute to play Joe Webb hit Brandon Wegher for a 42-yard catch and run for a touchdown. Carolina then was successful on the two-point conversion as Webb hit Paul Browning to steal a 25-24 win for the Panthers in Rex Ryan’s debut as head coach of the Bills.

Matt Cassel was an efficient passer going 7-8 passing for 45 yards as the starting quarterback. Tyrod Taylor was the second quarterback in and was 5-8 passing for 49 yards with 47 yards rushing on six carries. He also was responsible for both of Buffalo’s first-half scoring drives. Manuel worked with the third unit and was 4-8 passing for 77 yards and a touchdown.

REPLAY ENTIRE PANTHERS VS BILLS GAME

Buffalo’s offense was effective running the football averaging 4.6 yards per carry on the night with 45 rushes for a total of 206 yards. They were also two for three on red zone opportunities and reached the end zone in both of their goal-to-go situations.

The first team defense was very effective against the run early, but did give up an 80-yard touchdown drive. The defense was effective on third down throughout the game holding Carolina to 3-of-11 on third down conversions (27%).

How it went down: --Buffalo got on the board first whenKarlos Williams capped an eight-play 65-yard drive with a one-yard plunge into the end zone for a 7-0 lead at the 12:54 mark of the first quarter. Tyrod Taylor rushed three times for 35 yards on the scoring march.

--Carolina answered on the ensuing possession with Ted Ginn (38 yards), Kelvin Benjamin (19 yards) and Greg Olsen (nine yards) all catching passes on the 80-yard scoring drive before Benjamin pulled in a two-yard touchdown catch with 9:15 left in the opening quarter.

--The Bills would respond on the very next series with Bryce Brown finishing off a 90-yard drive with a four-yard touchdown run. Brown had 33 yards on four carries on the drive. (14-7)

--The Panthers would cut into the Bills’ seven-point lead with a 47-yard Graham Gano field goal with just two seconds left in the half (14-10).

--Carolina would then take their first lead of the game early in the third quarter (17-14) on a 12-yard touchdown pass from Derek Anderson to Brenton Bersin. The Panthers had four “chunk” plays on the drive of 34, 16, 12 and 12 yards.

--Though the Buffalo offense couldn’t gain much in the way of yardage K Jordan Gaybailed them out with a 52-yard field goal to tie the game with six minutes left in the third quarter (17-17).

--The Bills were then able to re-take the lead late in the third quarter on a 51-yard bomb from EJ Manuel to Deonte Thompson on a deep post for a score (24-17).

--Carolina pulled ahead with under a minute to play when RB Brandon Wegher took a short dump pass from Joe Webb and found lots of running room going 42 yards to the end zone. Webb then hit Paul Browning for a two-point conversion and a one-point lead (25-24).

From the locker room
"You have three guys battling you want it to be a hard decision with all three guys that all three are playing to a good level. They clearly did (Friday) and I think it’s impossible to say they didn’t play well. All three of them did. So make that thing as hard as possible and again we’ll make the decision at the right time to make it.”
--Head coach Rex Ryan on the QBs

“They went good. We were able to get the ball down the field. Hit some big third downs. On the first one, we were able to capitalize at the end. That is always good when you can finish drives with touchdowns instead of three points.”
-- Tyrod Taylor on the first half scoring drives

“I think we did alright. We didn’t do great; we let them get an 80-yard drive so that wasn’t good. We stopped the run and we made some plays out there, but we got a lot to learn from.”
--Stephon Gilmore on the first team defense

“I thought the quarterbacks played excellent.  I thought the linemen played very, very, very well.”
--LeSean McCoy

“We did well. We shut down the run and that’s the thing we want to do, but we didn’t want to give them a TD as a first team defense. So we got to get better there. But overall it was a good first half.”
--Preston Brown

Subplots:

Tyrod Taylor, as expected was the second quarterback into the game after starter Matt Cassel. Taylor led the team’s two first-half scoring drives and finished the day with almost as many rushing yards (47) as passing yards (49).

Buffalo’s first team defense had a pair of three-and-outs and a five-play drive surrendered. Their run defense was stout early as they allowed just three yards on the Panthers’ first five carries. Carolina did however, put together a seven-play 80-yard drive for a touchdown against the Bills’ starting ‘D’.

Ronald Darby was a target of the Carolina passing game. The Panthers matched up some of their tallest receivers against him including Kelvin Benjamin and Devin Funchess. Four passes were completed against Darby for 91 yards, one of which went for a touchdown. Darby did have a good pass breakup on a jump ball in the end zone intended for Funchess. He had two pass breakups and three tackles in the game.

IK Enemkpali saw action right before the two-minute warning in the first half. He showed power off the edge, but committed an offsides penalty. He took the place of undrafted rookie Andrew Hudson with the second unit. Hudson rotated in later.

Marcus Thigpen was the first to return kicks and punts. He had an effective night on punt returns with both going for 19 yards each.

Buffalo lost a couple of defensive linemen to injury in the game. DT Corbin Bryant and DE Jarius Wynn both sustained knee injuries.

Inactives: K Dan Carpenter, WR Percy Harvin, CB Leodis McKelvin, RB Fred Jackson, RB Boobie Dixon, CB Ross Cockrell, CB Cam Thomas, TE Chris Manhertz, GRichie Incognito, DT Kyle Williams, DT Stefan Charles, DL Alex Carrington.

Up next: The Bills will be on the road next Thursday night in Cleveland to face the Browns. Kickoff is scheduled for 8 pm.

Dolphins Open Preseason With 27-10 Loss To Bears

Just as he did in 2014 against the Atlanta Falcons, Ryan Tannehill directed the Dolphins offense to a touchdown drive against the Chicago Bears to kick off the 2015 preseason. 

But whereas the Dolphins defense watched Atlanta respond with a touchdown drive last year, this time it was a three-and-out for the Bears on their opening offensive possession. 

The strong start clearly was the highlight in a game the Dolphins ended up losing 27-10 after being outscored 24-0 in the second half. 

Tannehill completed 6 of 7 passes against Chicago, capping the opening drive with a 2-yard touchdown pass to Jarvis Landry on fourth-and-goal. 

“Really good opening possession,” Head Coach Joe Philbin said at halftime. “Guys stepped up and made plays and we overcame a little bit of adversity within the drive.” 

The only other points scored by the Dolphins came courtesy of a 31-yard field goal byCaleb Sturgis late in the first half a few plays after McLeod Bethel-Thompson connected with LaRon Byrd on a 31-yard completion. 

Bethel-Thompson, however, threw two interceptions in the second half as part of a bad offensive run that saw three turnovers in a four-drive stretch — the other turnover was a Mike Gillisleefumble after he was stripped at the end of a 25-yard run. 

The first Chicago interception, by linebacker John Timu, set up the Bears’ first touchdown, a 1-yard run by Ka’Deem Carey on fourth-and-goal that gave them their first lead of the game. A two-point conversion made it 17-10. 

Chicago closed out the scoring with a 54-yard run by Senorise Perry with 3:57 left in the fourth quarter. 

The Dolphins struggled with penalties throughout the game, and that included two holding calls on that impressive opening drive. But they were able to overcome those two setbacks thanks to some big plays, most notably a 19-yard pass from Tannehill to veteran newcomerGreg Jennings that was followed immediately by a 27-yard run by Lamar Miller. 

The Dolphins got a first-and-goal after an 8-yard completion from Tannehill to tight endDion Sims, and the touchdown came on a quick out to Landry in the corner of the end zone. 

“We’ve got two good kickers that we want to evaluate, but we were on the 2-yard line, so we just felt like it was a good opportunity for us to practice our fourth-down offense,” Philbin said in explaining the decision to go for the touchdown. 

The defense forced the Bears into a three-and-out on their opening drive afterNdamukong Suh enticed a false start on Chicago’s first snap from scrimmage. SafetyReshad Jones also was instrumental on that first drive as he tackled Jacquizz Rodgers after a 1-yard gain on a run and later broke up the third-down pass. 

When the Dolphins returned on offense, Matt Moore took over at quarterback and centerMike Pouncey, tackle Ja’Wuan James and Miller accompanied Tannehill on the sideline. 

All four quarterbacks on the roster saw action against the Bears, with Josh Freemanreplacing Bethel-Thompson in the fourth quarter. Freeman led a drive that reached the Bears 8-yard line after completions of 15 and 19 yards to Cobi Hamilton and another of 21 yards toKevin Cone, but the scoring threat ended with four consecutive incompletions.

GAME NOTES 

• Right guard Billy Turner remained in the game long after the other four starters on the offensive line had been taken out for the night. Turner played most of the first half and was back in the lineup at the start of the second half. 

• The Dolphins opened on offense with two tight ends, Jordan Cameron and Dion Sims, and on defense in the nickel formation with Brent Grimes and Jamar Taylor outside at cornerback and Brice McCain in the slot. 

• Rookie linebacker Zach Vigil led the defense with five tackles and had the Dolphins’ only sack of the game. 

• Linebacker Jordan Tripp left the game in the first half with an injury to his lower right leg. He returned to the sideline in the second half wearing a protective boot and sporting crutches. 

• The Dolphins are now 22-27-1 in preseason openers and have lost their last four. 

• The Dolphins defense didn’t allow a play longer than 17 yards in the first half. 

• Eight Dolphins players were kept out of the game: WR Christion Jones, WR Kenny Stills, WR DeVante Parker, FS Louis Delmas, RB Jay Ajayi, DB Don Jones, LB Koa Misi and T Branden Albert.