This season is going about as well as possible for the Carolina Panthers.
The Buffalo Bills, on the other hand, have experienced some unexpected glitches.
On Sunday, the Bills will try to alter the course of their season — and that of the Panthers, as well — when they travel to Charlotte.
The Bills (4-2) lost two straight games before a week off. When coming off an open date, Buffalo is 8-0 in the next game since 2017.
“We’re looking forward to getting back on track,” Bills quarterback Josh Allen said. “We don’t have to do a complete overhaul. I think it’s very correctable.”
Carolina (4-3) has won three games in a row and is above .500 at any point in a season for the first time since 2021.
“We have not seen our best football,” Panthers coach Dave Canales said. “We have seen glimpses of it.”
Carolina might be without quarterback Bryce Young this week. He left the second half of Sunday’s victory against the New York Jets with an ankle injury and he wasn’t a practice participant Wednesday.
“This is going to be about Bryce and Byrce’s health,” Canales said of the quarterback’s availability on Sunday. “If he’s ready to go, we’ll ask him to go out and execute like he always does.”
The Panthers, who are 3-0 in home games, are preparing to use backup quarterback Andy Dalton. The 15th-year veteran threw for 60 yards in relief of Young. Dalton started five games with the Panthers last season.
Carolina outside linebacker D.J. Wonnum (not injury-related/rest) did not participate in practice Wednesday. Cornerback Jaycee Horn (not injury-related/rest) was listed as limited along with left guard Damien Lewis (shoulder) and outside linebacker Princely Umanmielen (ribs).
Buffalo coach Sean McDermott, a former defensive coordinator with the Panthers, said the Bills are anxious to get back on the field, particularly with a week off following two defeats.
Allen, who has never lost three straight games as a starter, has thrown for 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. His 254 rushing yards are the second-most for a quarterback this season.
“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Allen said. “But this is a team that wants to do that work.”
Two of Allen’s top four receivers have missed time recently. Tight end Dalton Kincaid has dealt with an oblique injury and missed Buffalo’s most recent game — a 24-14 loss at Atlanta on Oct. 13 — while Joshua Palmer exited the Atlanta game with an ankle injury. Palmer was one of three Bills, along with defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (calf) and safety Taylor Rapp (knee), to sit out practice Wednesday.
“They can attack you in a lot of different ways,” Canales said of the Bills.
Both teams rate high in rushing offense this season. The Panthers went with Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle alternating series last week against the New York Jets with Hubbard back from a two-game injury absence. Canales said there’s no rush to sort out the running back position.
“I liked that we went into the fourth quarter with two physically fresh backs,” the coach said.
Buffalo’s James Cook is averaging 89.5 rushing yards per game, ranking second in the league.
The Bills could restock portions of their roster with defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi and defensive end Michael Hoecht eligible to return from six-game suspensions for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing drug policy. McDermott was noncommittal on whether Ogunjobi and/or Hoecht would play this week. Ogunjobi played collegiately for Charlotte.
There are questions about Bills linebacker Matt Milano, who was limited in Wednesday’s practice. Rookie cornerback Maxwell Hairston was at Wednesday’s practice as he works back from a knee injury. Kinkaid was also limited, along with linebacker Terrel Bernard (ankle).
First-year Buffalo linebacker Shaq Thompson makes a return to Charlotte, where he played his first 10 NFL seasons with the Panthers. He posted a season-high 10 tackles in the Atlanta game.
Quarterback Mike White is on Carolina’s practice squad after spending 2024 with the Bills.
“There’s no secret code involved here,” Canales said. “He’s a Panther right now, so trying to get as much info as we can.”
Buffalo is 6-2 all-time against the Panthers, including 2-1 in Charlotte.
