CHARLOTTE – This is a game the Bills will look back on and mutter the two most frustrating words in sports, “What if…”
On a warm but beautiful Sunday afternoon at Bank of America Stadium, Buffalo’s defense did everything but score which, in hindsight, it needed to do as its offense was MIA.
When it ended, the Panthers (2-0) owned a 9-3 victory and the Bills (1-1) found themselves in a three-way atop the AFC East with New England and Miami and musing on an opportunity squandered.
Buffalo’s ‘D’ held Carolina to three Graham Gano field goals (34, 28 and 20 yards), sacked quarterback Cam Newton six times, made a dozen tackles for loss and earned nothing but the first defeat under new coach Sean McDermott, who served the previous six seasons as the Panthers’ defensive coordinator.
Carolina never let the Bills inside its 27-yard line and solidified its position as the NFL’s most stingy team in defensive yardage, holding Buffalo to 176 yards, reducing its season average to 196 per game.
Still, despite their struggles, the Bills were one botched pass play, on their final offensive snap, from stealing a win in front of 74,112 sun-splashed witnesses.
Buffalo’s defense was so solid, it held Carolina for three downs that started with 1st-and-goal on the Bills 1-yard-line late in the fourth quarter, forcing Gano’s final field goal.
That meant the Bills had 75 yards to go — after the end zone kickoff — for a touchdown that could have won the game 10-9.
Buffalo drove to the Carolina 32 with 1:01 to play and two timeouts remaining when Andre Holes caught a 10-yard Tyrod Taylor pass and stepped out of bounds. But Holmes was called for offensive pass interference and three snaps and a timeout later, Buffalo faced 4th-and-11 at the Carolina 33.
Taylor, on a scramble, spotted Zay Jones behind the defense, and delivered a catchable ball that the rookie wide receiver got both hands on at the Panthers 1-yard line. It fell incomplete with 14 seconds to play and a timeout remaining.
That’s where the biggest “What if” comes.
“People are going to say we lost the game because of (that),” safety Micah Hyde said of Jones’ failure to make the catch. “But that’s not true, we had plenty of other opportunities to score points or cause turnovers. Zay will be fine … everyone in this locker room will have his back.”
As Jones, one of Buffalo’s two second-round draft choices remembered, “The ball came my way and I just did not make the play. I think it was a well-thrown ball … it was the perfect play to beat the coverage, I just didn’t make the catch.
“It’s very tough, especially because of the guys in this locker room … I play my heart out for them and absolutely love them. It’s just really difficult now.”
And if there was any question that the Panthers blew the coverage, cornerback James Bradberry begged to differ.
“I saw (Taylor) throw it and thought someone was going to be behind me,” he said. “This is my fault. I have to stay back. If he would have caught it, I would have been hurt. I probably would have cried. Fortunately, he didn’t catch it.”
As Taylor recalled, “They were playing … with the corners off. I was able to hold the safety (from helping on Jones) … we just weren’t able to make the play. There were other plays out there on the field that could have been made, but we didn’t get a chance to make that one.
“We didn’t execute the play that was called … point blank.
“(Jones) is a younger player and a lot is being asked of him. There are a lot of plays that are going to be made and a lot not going to be made … the main thing is to learn from it and move forward. Don’t let it hinder you … learn and brush it off. As a team, we have his back. It didn’t boil down to that (missed connection) … would that have helped, yes, but it’s other plays out there that I didn’t make … and as a team, we didn’t make … as a team we have to learn from it.”
And Taylor lamented, “Our defense did a great job of holding their offense out of the end zone and that was something we knew was going to be a dog fight. Offensively, as a team, we didn’t have the greatest start in the first half (23 yards total offense) but we were able to get some things going in the second half (153 yards). We just didn’t get it done today.”
As he recalled of the final possession, “My main thing to the offense at that point was to forget what happened up to that point. We have a fresh start and an opportunity to go out and win the game. We just didn’t execute the fourth-down play.”
But the result was best summarized by running back Mike Tolbert, the former Panther Buffalo signed as a free agent this spring.
“We played the best defense in the league,” he said of Carolina. “I’m not taking anything away from those guys … I know them well obviously. We have to improve on offense … there are some things I could have done better. We have to run the ball better (23 carries for 69 yards).
“Our defense played amazing all day … we have to take them off the field and get them a break sometimes.”
And maybe score some points.
