CHARLOTTE — The Panthers (4-3) are riding a three game win streak back home this week, for a showdown with the Buffalo Bills (4-2). Carolina is undefeated at home this season, having gone 3-0 in Bank of America Stadium, but the Bills are coming off of a bye week, during which time they were able to evaluate what happened in their most recent game, a 24-14 loss to the Falcons. The Bills have actually lost their last two games, ahead of their bye, but have one of the best records in the NFL since 2017 in games after a bye.
The Bills are undefeated—8-0—coming off a bye since 2017. Quarterback Josh Allen leads the NFL in wins following a bye week as a starting quarterback since then as well, with a 7-0 record. Buffalo is also ranked fourth in most points scored (220) after a bye since 2017.
Even still, Dave Canales made clear on Monday that his team isn't treating this game against the perennial contenders any differently than they have any game.
"I think the focus has to be week to week," Canales said. "The challenge is to go 1-0. Let's attack our game plan. Let's trust our process, the way we work during the week, capture that part of it; this shouldn't be any different.
"This shouldn't be any different, the focus has to be there. We can't waste energy on anything else, any other statements or anything like that. It's going to be about the fundamentals of football."
The Panthers are 2-6 all-time against the Bills. Carolina is 1-2 at home and 1-4 on the road at Buffalo. The two teams haven't played each other since December 19, 2021, when the Panthers lost in Buffalo 31-14. The two clubs did face off in the preseason last year.
Get to know the 2025 Buffalo Bills ahead of Sunday's Week 8 matchup.
The reigning MVP
Josh Allen is the reigning MVP of the league for a reason. The quarterback has been playing on a different level the last couple of years. Over the course of 12 games—the Bills Week 12 bye in 2024 and the Week 3 win against the Dolphins this season, including playoffs—the offense had one turnover. It was the first time such a stat had been posted in NFL history. Since then, Allen has thrown four interceptions.
What sets Allen apart from other quarterbacks is not his ability to do one or two things really well, but to do everything well. That includes knowing when to hang in the pocket, when to break free and buy his receivers time downfield, or when to road-grade a defender.
Through six games, Allen has 1,397 passing yards and 11 touchdowns to those four interceptions, with a 68.5 completion percentage. Additionally, he's added 254 rushing yards, which is second most by any QB in the league right now (behind Justin Fields) and has the second highest scramble percentage (12 percent) almost qualifying quarterbacks. Allen also owns the most scramble rushing yards (250) of any QB this season, even with the bye.
He's also scrambled for 83 yards that resulted in a pass.
Allen's most productive receiver to this point is a tight end, Dalton Kincaid, who has 287 yards and three touchdowns on 20 receptions (24 targets). However, Kincaid isn't the runaway top receiver. The ball is being spread around, and four guys have 200-plus receiving yards: Kincaid, Khalil Shakir, Keon Coleman, and Joshua Palmer.
However, two of those top four guys were dealing with injuries heading into the bye week. Kincaid didn't play in the Bills Week 6 loss to the Falcons, dealing with an oblique injury, though he tested his endurance during pregame warmups in Atlanta. And Palmer left that game with an ankle injury. Sean McDermott said last week that Palmer is "week-to-week."
A who's who on defense
The Bills added some key pieces in free agency this offseason, folding them in to an already impressive unit, to create a stout front. Ed Oliver—who is tied for a team high 2.0 sacks despite missing four games—was joined by Joey Bosa and Larry Ogunjobi, the latter of whom is now eligible—along with defensive end Michael Hoecht—to return after serving a six-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing drug policy.
Former Panther Shaq Thompson also joined the Bills as a free agent this offseason, and has 24 tackles, three for loss, 2.0 sacks, and two passes defended this season.
Heading into their bye week, the Bills has the league's second-best pressure rate in the league, thanks to Bosa, who is in the Top 15 in quarterback pressure rate (16.5 percent) and on pace to have his best career stat in that column since 2020.
The Bills have only had star linebacker Matt Milano for one full game this season (Week 1) as the veteran works back from a pectoral injury. Milano suffered the injury in Week 2, tried to return in Week 5 and "tweaked" it again, according to McDermott. He did not play in Week 6.
Letting James "Cook"
Sunday will be a matchup of two of the top three rushing offenses in the league. The Bills side of that equation is thanks in large part to James Cook III. Heading into the bye week, Cook was second in the NFL in rushing yardage. Even with not playing on Sunday, Cook is still in the Top 5 (currently fourth overall) in the league in total rushing yards, with 537 total on the ground. His 89.5 rushing yards per game are still second in the NFL, trailing only Jonathan Taylor.
Cook has five rushing touchdowns and has moved the chains 28 times.
According to Bills reporter and WGR 500 host Howard Simon, Buffalo only had Cook on the field for 52.6 percent of the offensive snaps in the loss to the Falcons, his second lowest of the season, behind only a 30-10 win over the Jets in Week 2.
McDermott told reporters last week that he had discussed the usage with offensive coordinator Joe Brady.
