CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — Josh Allen will put his 7-0 record following a bye week on the line Sunday when the Buffalo Bills visit the surging Carolina Panthers.
Allen and the Bills appeared in prime position to gain a stranglehold on the No. 1 seed in the AFC — and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs — after racing to a 4-0 start, which including a come-from-behind win over the Baltimore Ravens in Week 1.
But the Bills have suddenly looked average,
losing back-to-back games to the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons before the bye.
Allen said it was difficult to go into the week off on a sour note, but added it has given the Bills time to hit the reset button.
“Listen, we got a lot of work to do,” Allen said. “But this is a team that has a lot of guys that want to do that work, that care for each other. And we’re just excited for another opportunity this week.”
The Panthers (4-3) looked like they might be headed toward an eighth straight season without a trip to the postseason after starting the season 1-3. But they've found a running game and have reeled off three straight wins. It's the first time they have been above .500 this late in the season since starting 5-3 in 2019.
They are just one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the NFC South with two games still to play against Baker Mayfield and company.
The Panthers appear focused, even avoiding the traditional time-off rewards that come with “victory Mondays.”
“I love that our leadership is focused that way," Panthers coach Dave Canales said. "They certainly understand that we haven’t seen our best football. ... We’ve seen glimpses of it. We’ve seen excellent play in areas, but there’s so much more out there for us, and we should just continue to be trying to improve our processes all the way through the end of the season.”
Andy Dalton could be in line for his seventh start in three seasons with the Panthers. Bryce Young is hobbled by an ankle sprain and not practice Wednesday or Thursday after leaving in the second half last week against the New York Jets.
Dalton is 1-5 as a starter for Carolina, but has plenty of experience.
He is 178-168 as an NFL starting quarterback, having thrown for more than 39.000 yards and 254 touchdowns — most of that production coming during his nine seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals.
“If Andy does have to play, have full confidence being able to just call the game the same way I would normally call it and have the balance and be attacking and aggressive in our spots," Canales said. "So he gives us an opportunity to keep pushing our football forward, which I love.”
The Bills are in position to have two offseason free-agent additions make their defensive debuts on Sunday. Edge rusher Michael Hoecht and tackle Larry Ogunjobi both resumed practicing this week after serving their respective six-game NFL suspensions for violating the NFL’s policy on performance enhancers.
Just don’t consider it the calvary arriving, said Ogunjobi, who's entering his ninth season.
“I think it’s just me and Mike coming back, being able to just help how we can,” said Ogunjobi, who spent the previous three years with Pittsburgh. “You want to rally, you want to get this thing going in the right direction.”
The Panthers have found something with their running game over the last three weeks and will look to take advantage of a Buffalo defense that is ranked 31st in the NFL against the rush, allowing an average of 156.3 yards per game.
Carolina is third in the league in rushing, averaging 140.1 yards per game.
Canales said the Panthers will continue to employ a two-back system with Chuba Hubbard and Rico Dowdle. Last week, with Hubbard returning from a calf injury, the Panthers alternated possessions with the two backs.
The Panthers have even flirted with the idea of using the “pony package” with both Hubbard and Dowdle on the field at the same time.
“Anytime you get both those backs on the field, it’s a great threat to the defense just as it is with our other personnel," offensive coordinator Brad Idzik said.
Bills linebacker Shaq Thompson is in for a homecoming after spending his first 11 seasons with Carolina. He signed with Buffalo and reunited with coach Sean McDermott, who previously served as the Panthers' defensive coordinator.
“A winner. He’s here for a reason,” McDermott said, referring to the 2015 first-round draft pick. “You could tell right away the impact he made in our locker room, on our team. ... And part of it is that they can learn from watching a player like that, how he handles himself on the field and off the field.”
Signed as a backup, Thompson could have an elevated role given the uncertain status of starters Matt Milano (pectoral) and Terrel Bernard (ankle).
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AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Orchard Park, New York, contributed to this report.
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