• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
  • Home
  • WHAT’S ON FOX
  • ABOUT
    • Meet Our Team
      • Our Journalists
      • Job Openings
      • Sales & Programming
    • Contact WSFX
      • Sales & Programming
  • Welcome Home

Fox Wilmington WSFX-TV

Wilmington, NC | Local news Weather and Sports

  • Local News
    • Unsung Heroes
      • Nominate an Unsung Hero
  • Local Weather
  • National
  • Sports
    • Panthers 2023 Game Schedule
    • Carolina Panthers
    • High School Football
  • Politics
    • NC Voter Information
  • Health
  • Entertainment
    • What’s on TV?
  • MORE…
    • Technology
    • Science
    • Lifestyle
    • What’s Happening Wilmington

Rapid Reactions: Panthers fall in Buffalo, 31-14

December 19, 2021 By Darin Gantt

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — The Panthers did not have a kicker Sunday.

That turned out to be just one of their problems.

The persistent struggles to move the ball — which have plagued them all year — again kept them out of the win column.

The Panthers fell 31-14 to the Bills at Highmark Stadium, their fourth straight loss. That dropped them to 5-9 this season, and they’ve now lost nine of their last 11.

Of course, the breakdowns on offense have been systemic, and widespread.

Already this year, they’ve changed play-callers once, started three quarterbacks, star running back Christian McCaffrey has played in just seven games, and they’ve used 10 different combinations of starting offensive linemen in 14 games.

Those stats override anything particular about the Bills game.

That said, what happened in the below-freezing, windy Western New York conditions was enough to leave anyone cold.

Panthers quarterback Cam Newton was 18-of-39 for 156 yards with a touchdown and an interception. He was sacked four times, including twice by former Panthers defensive end Efe Obada midway through the fourth quarter.

Newton did enough to keep the Panthers within arm’s length as a rusher, and the Panthers mixed it up enough to keep it interesting for much of the afternoon. But the Bills, who lead the league in defense, never seemed threatened when the Panthers dropped back to pass.

Newton did have 71 yards rushing, and there were some other interesting moments when the Panthers had the ball.

His second-quarter touchdown run was set up by a 30-yard end-around by wide receiver Robby Anderson. Tight end Ian Thomas had a massive block on that play, getting them in position for the score.

Newton also led a four-play, 43-yard touchdown drive early in the fourth quarter, connecting with running back Ameer Abdullah on a 23-yard score to make it a 24-14 game.

— The Panthers could have had points early in the game, if they’d have had a kicker.

But after Zane Gonzalez suffered a right quad injury during pre-game warmups, they were without their most dependable source of points (he had hit 17 straight field goals, with his last miss in Week 4 in Dallas).

That forced the Panthers to go for fourth downs and two-point conversions in places they might not have under ordinary circumstances.

The ensuing two-point conversion pass from Newton to DJ Moore was the sharpest piece of passing game they had all day, with Moore making an impressive one-handed catch. The Panthers were 1-of-5 on fourth down and 1-for-2 on two-point conversions.

Wide receiver Brandon Zylstra kicked off three times, electing to hit line drives. The Bills started those three drives on their own 29-, 26- and 43-yard lines, keeping it from being a disaster.

— The Panthers extended a couple of Bills drives with penalties, one of them from a guy not even on the field.

Defensive tackle Bravvion Roy was flagged for an unnecessary roughness call in the third quarter. He was in the face of Bills quarterback Josh Allen after the play, after Allen had been shoved out of bounds by Yetur Gross-Matos.

Five plays later, Josh Allen threw a laser of a touchdown pass to Gabriel Davis to push the score to 24-8

The Panthers finished the game with five penalties for 55 yards.

— Gross-Matos had his best game of the season. He had five tackles, forced a fumble and his 2.5 sacks on the day equaled his rookie year production.

The 2020 second-round pick had a single sack this season entering the game.

1 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

2 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

3 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

4 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

5 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

6 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

7 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

8 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

9 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

10 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

11 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

12 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

13 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

14 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

15 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

16 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

17 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

18 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

19 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

20 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

21 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

22 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

23 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

24 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

25 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

26 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

27 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

28 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

29 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

30 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

31 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

32 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

33 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

34 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

35 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

36 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

37 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

38 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

39 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

40 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

41 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

42 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

43 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

44 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

45 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

46 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

47 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

48 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

49 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

50 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

51 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

52 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

53 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

54 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

55 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

56 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

57 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

58 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

59 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

60 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

61 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

62 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

63 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

64 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

65 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

66 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

67 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

68 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

69 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

70 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

71 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

72 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

73 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

74 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

75 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

76 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

77 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

78 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

79 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

80 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

81 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

82 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

83 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

84 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

85 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

86 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

87 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

88 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

89 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

90 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

91 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

92 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

93 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

94 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

95 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

96 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

97 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

98 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

99 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

100 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

101 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

102 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

103 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

104 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

105 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

106 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

107 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

108 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

109 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

110 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

111 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker/Carolina Panthers

112 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

113 / 113

Chanelle Smith-Walker

https://www.panthers.com/news/rapid-reactions-panthers-fall-in-buffalo-31-14

Filed Under: Carolina Panthers

Primary Sidebar

 

Follow Us On Facebook



TRENDING NOW

Democrat senator temporarily held up Senate vote hours before shutdown over Ukraine funding

UCF’s Timmy McClain avoids multiple tackles in gritty play to keep drive alive; Baylor gets last laugh

The police chief who led a raid of a small Kansas newspaper has been suspended

Senate passes stopgap measure in 88-9 vote, averting shutdown with three hours to spare

Mugshots of the week: Sept. 24-30, 2023

Footer

PUBLIC FILE INFO

Individuals with disabilities who have questions about the content of our public file or website may contact Isabella Gano by phone at
(910) 343-8826 or by email at Isabella.gano@foxwilmington.com

 
 » WSFX FCC Public File
»EEO Report
»Closed Captioning

SITE MAP

  • Local Headlines
  • Coronavirus
  • Local Weather
  • National Headlines
  • Sports
  • Politics
  • Health

WSFX TV

  • Livestream Newscast
  • Meet Our Team
  • Sales & Programming
  • WELCOME HOME
  • Go With The Pros
  • Medically Speaking
  • WHAT’S ON FOX

Copyright © 2023 · American Spirit Media LLC · WSFX TV · Wilmington NC · Terms of Service · Privacy Policy