ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. — Maybe it was just a preseason game for everyone else.

But for running back Jonathon Brooks, it was the next step in a long road, so it wasn't hard to see it meant more for him.

Brooks touched the ball four times in the nine snaps the first offense played, but more than his stats (14 yards from scrimmage) was the fact he walked out of Highmark Stadium on his own two feet, after his first game action since his second ACL tear in Week 14 of the 2024 season.

"I mean, a preseason game for me is like an actual game," Brooks said after the 29-14 loss to the Bills on Saturday. "You go out there, you want to put your best foot forward. You've got to treat every game as if it's the Super Bowl or like it's your last play.

"So, I think it was definitely good for me to get out there. Definitely got a lot of things to work on, excited for it, and we're walking out of here, so that's the big thing."

While it was a small sample size, that emotional impact was huge for Brooks, who missed all of last season recovering. So whether it was after the game when he hugged former teammate Austin Corbett (now with the Bills, and he knows plenty about knee issues), or on the sideline with coach Dave Canales, it was a moving day.

"It just felt good to see him out there running, getting hit, getting tackled, popping up, going back to the huddle," Canales said. "Somewhere in the second half I walk up to him, and I got a little emotional just knowing the journey that it's taken to get back to this point, out on the grass in a stadium.

"And so I was really pleased with just JB being able to get out there and get back going."

Brooks grinned and said it was a "short conversation" with Canales, and said the primary feeling was relief.

"Just blessed to be out there, be back out there with the team," he said. "It was something short (with Canales), just because he knows what I've been through the past two years. It's been hard. It took a lot of hard work and dedication and a lot of belief to get back there.

"Especially after the last shot, they said I was done; the competitive person in me just wants to keep going just because I felt like, obviously, I didn't do enough; that's just the competitive person in me."

Seeing his struggle the last year and a half has given them all vested interest in his journey, but the Panthers also know that when he's well, Brooks can make an impact on this offense.

So being able to turn around and hand it off was also a significant moment for quarterback Bryce Young.

"It was great; I was super happy for him," Young said. "So much work done behind the scenes, behind closed doors, so just him being out there, it's huge for us as a team.

"Super happy for him personally, so we're super excited to have him back."​

Of course, the fact the Panthers had such a short time on the field was a separate issue.

Canales planned to play his starters between 10-20 snaps, but after three three-and-outs, he said the first offense "didn't earn" the chance to continue.

They were playing without starting guards Robert Hunt and Damien Lewis (with Brady Christensen and Chandler Zavala in their spots), but there wasn't the consistency in the run game that Canales wants to build things around.

"It's all valuable information," Canales said. "These games are so important to me because we have to evaluate what we're doing and what it looks like and check out the film and say, look, here was the breakdown of some of these things to improve fundamentally on. It's such good exposure for our whole group, so I always look at these opportunities in a positive way.

"At the same time, yeah, I want to score points. I want us to run the ball better. I want us to find some explosives. We have fantastic players, and I know they'll come around and take this as a challenge and continue to go forward."

Asked specifically about the impact of his starting guards, he admitted there was a difference.

"It was a big impact," Canales said. "Again, that's something that we talked about right now as a group and just said, look, it starts up front, and when you get the run game going, the play pass game opens up, and when you're not getting it going, they kind of just sit back on their heels a little bit and be more patient with stuff. So we've got to be better."

But for what amounts to a first preseason game, leaving the game with no new injuries, and seeing Brooks walk to the bus was almost enough.

"My main goal is to stay healthy, and help the team best I can," Brooks said. "I mean, it was a little bit of a relief, definitely just to get that out of the way. For sure, it was definitely a little relief. But I mean, I'm ultimately trusting in God's plan and what he has in store for me.

"It was my first preseason game, and then I was just out there having fun with my teammates again."