Buffalo Bills vs. Carolina Panthers Series History, Common Connections

SB Nation

The Buffalo Bills (4-2) are in Charlotte, fresh off a bye and ready to take on the Carolina Panthers (4-3) this afternoon. While this is one of the rarer matchups in the NFL — Sunday’s game represents

just the ninth meeting all-time — these are two teams that have a lot of common connections.

Let’s revisit the series history, relive some of the more memorable matchups, break down those common connections, and go through the list of players who played for both teams. Hint: there are 65 players who saw action for both the Bills and Panthers.

Bills vs. Panthers series history

This is one of the newer rivalries in franchise history, with the Panthers coming into the NFL as an expansion franchise for the 1995 NFL season.

The Bills and Panthers have met eight times before, with Buffalo prevailing in six of the eight matchups. The Bills have won three of the last four contests against their NFC South counterparts, including a 31-14 triumph on December 19, 2021 in the most recent showdown.

Josh Allen completed 19-of-34 passes for 210 yards with three touchdowns and one interception, and Devin Singletary rushed 22 times for 86 yards and a touchdown. Allen tossed two touchdown passes to Gabe Davis and found Stefon Diggs for an 11-yard touchdown toss in the second quarter as the Bills took a 17-8 lead into halftime following a scoreless first quarter.

Davis hauled in a 20-yard pass and scored the only points of the third quarter as Buffalo went up 24-8 heading into the final stanza. Carolina sliced the lead to 24-14 when Cam Newton connected with Ameer Abdullah from 23 yards out early in the fourth, but a 14-yard touchdown strike from Allen to Davis put away the Panthers for good late in the fourth quarter as the Bills improved to 8-6 on the season.

Newton did not enjoy one of his better performances in Buffalo, as the Bills harassed him all game long, sacking him four times. Efe Obada took down Newton twice, while Taron Johnson and former Panther Star Lotulelei each added a sack. A.J. Klein recorded an interception as Buffalo held Newton to 18-of-38 passing for 156 yards with one touchdown and one interception. Newton was also Carolina’s leading rusher with 15 carries for 71 yards and a touchdown.

The last time these teams met in Charlotte was Week 2 of the 2017 NFL season, and it was a kickers duel, with the Panthers riding three Graham Gano field goals to a 9-3 triumph over the Tyrod Taylor-led Bills. Buffalo was shutout for the first 49 minutes of the game as Taylor was ineffective leading the offense. He was sacked three times and averaged only five yards per attempt in completing 17-of-25 passes for 125 yards. Taylor was also the Bills’ leading rusher (eight carries for 55 yards) as Carolina bottled up LeSean McCoy (12 carries for nine yards). McCoy was Buffalo’s leading receiver on the day, catching six passes for 34 yards. The other receivers — Jordan Matthews, Andre Holmes, and Zay Jones — combined to make seven catches for 66 yards.

Buffalo’s run defense was equally stout, holding Carolina to 77 yards on 28 rushes (an average of 2.75 yards per carry). The Bills sacked Cam Newton six times, with Jerry Hughes recording two sacks and Lorenzo Alexander, Shaq Lawson, Jordan Poyer, and Eddie Yarbrough each adding a sack of Newton.

Trailing 9-3, the Bills marched downfield late searching for the go-ahead touchdown, but Jones couldn’t come up with a diving catch at the Panthers’ three-yard line on 4th & 11, and the Bills fell to 1-1 during a season that saw the team snap its 17-year playoff drought by winning four of their final six games.

Fun fact: Buffalo was Carolina’s second-ever opponent during the team’s inaugural season, with the Bills easily handling the Panthers 31-9 in a Week 2 contest at then-Rich Stadium. Carolina, quarterbacked by former Bill Frank Reich, jumped out to a 9-0 lead early in the third quarter as the Panthers’ defense blanked Jim Kelly and the Bills for the first 33 minutes. Kelly suffered through one of the worst games of his Hall of Fame career, completing only one of his 14 passes in the first half while throwing two interceptions.

The second half didn’t start any better, with Kelly throwing another pick that led to a third Carolina field goal. But then Kelly connected with Russell Copeland on a 77-yard touchdown pass and that jump-started the Bills, who closed the game scoring the final 31 points. Thurman Thomas scored on a four-yard run, Darick Holmes found pay dirt from three yards out, and Kurt Schulz picked off a Reich pass and returned it 32 yards for a pick-six as the Bills took a 28-9 lead into the fourth quarter.

This was arguably one of the worst passing performances in NFL history. Kelly finished the day completing just 4-of-21 passes for 176 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions. Reich was equally inept. The Bills sacked their former teammate three times and held him to 6-of-21 passing for 44 yards. With the lost yardage from sacks, Carolina mustered only 12 net passing yards in defeat.

Franchise Comparison

Notable connections between the Bills and Panthers

As all Bills fans know, both their general manger, Brandon Beane, and head coach, Sean McDermott, came to Buffalo following a stint with the Panthers: Beane started off as an intern and wound up serving as the team’s assistant general manager, part of a 19-year career with the Panthers, while McDermott was Carolina’s defensive coordinator from 2011-16.

They’re not the only members of the front office/coaching staff with ties to Carolina. Current offensive coordinator Joe Brady’s first NFL coordinator job was with the Panthers in 2021 before he was fired, and current defensive coordinator Bobby Babich was both an administrative assistant and defensive assistant under McDermott from 2011-2012. Linebackers coach Al Holcomb was a coach with Carolina from 2013-17 and 2020-22, while special teams coordinator Chris Tabor was the Panthers’ special teams coordinator from 2022-23 and held the interim head coach title for the last six games of the 2023 season.

Who has played for both the Bills and Panthers?

There are a total of 65 players who appeared in a game for both the Bills and Panthers. This year, there are five such players: defensive tackle DaQuan Jones (2021 with the Panthers, 2022-25 with the Bills, linebacker Shaq Thompson (2015-24 with the Panthers, 2025 with the Bills), wide receiver Curtis Samuel (2017-20 with the Panthers, 2024-25 with the Bills), and safety Sam Franklin Jr. (2020-24 with the Panthers, 2025 with the Bills), punter Sam Martin (2022-24 with the Bills, 2025 with the Panthers), and defensive end Boogie Basham (2021-22 with the Bills, 2025 with the Panthers).

Among the other notable players with ties to both the Bills and Panthers:

Linebacker Carlton Bailey (1988-92 with the Bills, 1995-97 with the Panthers)
Wide receiver Don Beebe (1989-94 with the Bills, 1995 with the Panthers)
Wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin (2014-17 with the Panthers, 2017-18 with the Bills)
Cornerback Rasul Douglas (2020 with the Panthers, 2023-24 with the Bills)
Defensive tackle Dwan Edwards (2010-11 with the Bills, 2012-15 with the Panthers)
Cornerback Drayton Florence (2009-11 with the Bills, 2013 with the Panthers)
Cornerback Stephon Gilmore (2012-16 with the Bills, 2021 with the Panthers)
Center Geoff Hangartner (2009-10 with the Bills, 2005-13 with the Panthers)
Cornerback Dane Jackson (2020-23 with the Bills, 2024 with the Panthers)
Linebacker A.J. Klein (2013-16 with the Panthers, 2020-23 with the Bills)
Defensive end Shaq Lawson (2016-23 with the Bills, 2024 with the Panthers)
Defensive tackle Star Lotulelei (2013-17 with the Panthers, 2018-21 with the Bills)
Safety Dean Marlowe (2015-16 with the Panthers, 2018-22 with the Bills)
Tight end Pete Metzelaars (1985-94 with the Bills, 1995 with the Panthers)
Cornerback Josh Norman (2012-22 with the Panthers, 2020-23 with the Bills)
Defensive end Efe Obada (2018-20 with the Panthers, 2021 with the Bills)
Quarterback Frank Reich (1985-94 with the Bills, 1995 with the Panthers)
Fullback Mike Tolbert (2012-16 with the Panthers, 2017 with the Bills)
Guard Greg Van Roten (2017-19 with the Panthers, 2022 with the Bills)
Quarterback Joe Webb (2014-16 with the Panthers, 2017 with the Bills)
Offensive tackle Daryl Williams (2015-19 with the Panthers, 2020-21 with the Bills)
Safety Daryl Worley (2016-17 with the Panthers, 2020 with the Bills)