The Buffalo Bills opened their 2026 NFL preseason schedule at home against the Carolina Panthers, and while the end result may not matter, there is a lot to learn from the performances of individual players. Sometimes performance is even less important than the game time a player was on the field. At least early on, the Bills looked good. Their first-team offense hummed and their first-team defense stifled the Panthers. It wasn’t until reserves from both teams entered the fray that the Panthers began to put together some competitive campaigns. Evaluating preseason production always comes with a big grain of salt, but our stock report for Buffalo’s first preseason game is mixed up and down. For the former second-round pick, a pivotal third season awaits. You can’t judge it after just one preseason game, but it was a good afternoon for No. 0. Coleman started the game and saw plenty of action early. Coleman was targeted by four teams, tied with DJ Moore and Ray Davis for the most first-half targets of any Buffalo receiver. Coleman caught all four passes and, while they totaled just 17 yards, he caught the first touchdown at New Highmark Stadium. Coleman kept moving as Josh Allen did Josh Allen things on a first-and-goal from the nine. Coleman also showed off his ability as a blocker, sealing the lead on a nice reverse against Mecole Hardman Jr. Thanks in part to his efforts, Hardman Jr. gained 27 yards on the play. Overall, it was a positive afternoon for Coleman. Horns Down: Unnamed OTs Dion Dawkins On Buffalo’s first drive, it was right tackle Spencer Brown attacking Jaelan Phillips, resulting in a pressure on Josh Allen that forced a field goal attempt. On Buffalo’s second drive, Brown was pushed into Allen’s lap on a pass that was eventually completed; however, it would have been nice to have kept QB1 standing on the play. Later, it was Chase Lundt and Jude Bowry that allowed a defensive encounter in the Buffalo backfield, as both players missed blocks that caused a lot of pressure on Kyle Allen. Later in the first half, Bowry came off the edge again, leading to a hit on Kyle Allen. He also blocked Buffalo’s first drive of the third quarter, nullifying a long run by Frank Gore Jr. I don’t think it’s a huge concern, but neither Lundt nor Bowry seemed capable of stepping in against the reserves, much less the starters, in case of an injury to Brown or Dawkins. Horns Up: Quarterbacks with the last name Allen Both Josh Allen and Kyle Allen looked excellent all afternoon. Josh started the game and completed 6 of 8 passes for 111 yards and a touchdown on his two drives. Three of those passes went to his new target, DJ Moore, for 61 yards. The play-action pass, in particular, looked fantastic, as Allen hit Moore for a long gain and Khalil Shakir for two long gains thanks to strong fake plays. The most important thing is that No. 17 came out of the game without injuries. Kyle Allen took control on Buffalo’s third drive and was very efficient with the reserve group. He completed 14 of 16 passes for 108 yards during his work in the first half. Sure, there were plenty of checks for players like Ray Davis, but he also threw some nice passes to Trent Sherfield Sr., who caught both of his targets in the first half for 12 yards. Stephen Gosnell also caught a pair of 18-yard strikes from number 11. It was a positive outing for the veteran backup. It wasn’t a great first half for the veteran safety, as he gave up a touchdown pass late in the first half on the same drive he committed a mask penalty to extend it. Stone grabbed quarterback Kenny Pickett’s mask on third down near the Carolina 20-yard line when Buffalo’s stop unit had him dead on right. That probably would have led to a punt. Instead, the Panthers had a first down at their own 37-yard line, and after a long pass interference penalty on Toriano Pride Jr., they drove down the field and scored. Horns Up: Lloyd Cushenberry Sometimes when a player doesn’t play, that tells us more about a player than when or how he plays. Cushenberry started the game, but exited when Josh Allen exited the game. In contrast, Sedrick Van Pran-Granger played well into the second half. That tells me Cushenberry is probably ahead of the third-year man in the race to back up Connor McGovern. Since McGovern is currently recovering from a hamstring injury, if he can’t go on September 13 when the Bills face the Houston Texans, I’m betting it will be Cushenberry who starts that game in his place. There were too many sloppy sanctions. Yes, it’s the first preseason game. Yes, many of those sanctions were for young players. However, there was also at least one penalty for a starter, with Dion Dawkins jumping early for a false start. That’s been a big problem for him over the past few seasons. Maybe I’m just a cranky coach, but there were too many plays where a penalty ruined what otherwise seemed like a solid replay. Horns Up: Dorian Williams See my previous note on Lloyd Cushenberry. Dorian Williams started the game and made three tackles in the first half. He wasn’t anywhere near the field in the second half, however, as rookie Kaleb Elarms-Orr and third-year player Joe Andreessen were playing late in the game. While that could have been a good sign for the rookie, it was a little interesting to see Andreessen on the field late in the third quarter and early in the fourth quarter. However, it seemed like Dorian Williams was the clubhouse leader to start at inside linebacker alongside Terrel Bernard. The second-year man was there with the second-team defense, but he was all over the place when he was on the field. Hancock made four tackles, including two tackles for loss, and looked good both in coverage and as a blitzer attacking the line of scrimmage. Steve Tasker noted on the broadcast that a change in defensive philosophy might be the best thing that could happen to someone like Hancock, and although it’s only an afternoon, the early results seem to back up that point. Questionable Horns: TJ Sanders and Mike Danna For one thing, Danna had two sacks and essentially ended just one Carolina drive in the fourth quarter. However, as a six-year veteran who played a key role in the Kansas City Chiefs’ defense over the past few seasons, it’s definitely noteworthy that Danna was playing in the fourth quarter. Could this performance catapult him into a different role next week? Time will tell, but Danna definitely performed well in the role she was asked to play. As for Sanders, the team’s unofficial preseason depth chart listed him as a starter on the defensive line; However, he was also playing well into the fourth quarter. There are a limited number of bodies, but after an up-and-down rookie season that was arguably more down than up, it’s not a great sign that he was playing in the fourth quarter without putting up much in the way of attention-grabbing plays. With all due respect to Frank Gore Jr., who had a solid feature performance today, Wheeler faced essentially the same competition and offered a completely different team than the third-year man. While Gore Jr. is patient but lacks burst, Wheeler showed great vision and solid contact balance. Most importantly, he showed a second gear that Gore Jr. simply doesn’t have. If Ty Johnson takes longer than expected to recover from his hamstring injury, Wheeler could begin to position himself as a potential third running back with more outings like this. I’ll be interested to see if he builds on today’s strong performance into a bigger role next week. Let’s hear it, friends. Who stood out to you in this one? Let us know in the comments.
