Buffalo Bills @ Carolina Panthers
Sunday, October 26th, 1:00 PM ET
The Buffalo Bills are coming out of their bye week and simply have to get a win against the Carolina Panthers. Buffalo lost two games in a row heading into their bye, and it’s just not been a great season for the Bills. We are seeing their defense get exposed a bit and the offense not nearly as efficient as they were in 2024.
On paper, this roster isn’t special, frankly, and the Bills just do not feel like a contender at the moment. I can only imagine how hard it might be for the players and coaches to operate on a bye week with back-to-back losses. Fortunately for the Bills, there isn’t a clear-cut contender in the AFC, so Buffalo can still figure this thing out.
Buffalo looks to get to 5-2 against the Carolina Panthers, also a team with four wins. Carolina has really begun to put things together, as it seems like second-year head coach Dave Canales has really done a solid coaching job thus far.
Bryce Young did leave the game in Week 7 with an injury, so Andy Dalton might be in line to get the start here, but Dalton is a battle-tested veteran and someone who could absolutely lead Carolina to a win.
No matter who is under center for the Panthers, I actually think they can keep it close in Week 8, but my main worry with the Panthers is actually not the Panthers - Buffalo tends to respond well after a loss, as they seem to be pretty good at finding that motivation to correct the wrongs.
In this matchup, Carolina drops to 4-4 with a loss, and Buffalo snaps their two-game losing streak with a complete performance coming out of the bye.