The Buffalo Bills absolutely went off, smashing the Carolina Panthers 29-14 in their first preseason game at the new Highmark Stadium. Forget the score for a second though, because it doesn’t even begin to tell you how thoroughly the Bills dominated this thing. The whole vibe was different, and it was clear from the opening snap that something special is brewing with this squad. If you saw staffer Sean Murphy’s stock up/stock down piece right after the win, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
Brady and Leonhard Went Foot-on-the-Gas
Seriously, no one would have blamed head coach Joe Brady or defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard if they’d decided to play it safe, roll out the vanilla schemes for their first exhibition game. But nope, that’s not what happened at all, and honestly, I loved every minute of it. Brady wasn’t shy about letting Josh Allen take those deep drops, even calling a few play-action passes right from under center. And man, did Allen deliver! On those five drop backs, he was perfect, going 5-of-5 for 100 yards and a touchdown. Brady made it a point to push the ball downfield, a huge change from last season when Allen had his lowest average depth of target (aDOT) at just 7.8 yards. Guess what it was against the Panthers? A whopping 13.6 yards! We can’t jump to all the conclusions from one preseason game, but that’s a HUGE jump, isn’t it?
And Leonhard’s defense? Forget about it. They only blitzed three times on 31 Bryce Young and Kenny Pickett drop backs, but the Panthers’ offensive line was completely bewildered. Leonhard threw out a ton of pre-snap blitz looks followed by wild post-snap rotations up front that just messed with Carolina’s heads. The result? Four sacks of the three Carolina quarterbacks and a measly 4.9 yards-per-attempt average through the air. That’s about as “foot-on-the-gas” as you’re going to see from a coaching staff in a preseason opener!
Deone Walker Is a Certified Monster
But if we’re talking about who owned the field, it has to be second-year defensive tackle Deone Walker. This dude looked ridiculously sleek, even though he’s probably still weighing in somewhere in the 320s or 330s at 6’7″. On just 10 snaps, Walker absolutely wreaked havoc: two pressures, one sack, three tackles, and one tackle for loss. He was lightning off the snap, then just a bull in a china shop working his way through the interior of Carolina’s blocking unit. This 2025 fourth-round pick was only on just over 47% of the defensive snaps last regular season, yet he never hit that rookie wall. Plus, he made his presence felt in both of Buffalo’s playoff games with six tackles, four total pressures, and an interception. Walker is just one of those top 1% of the top 1% type specimens, and on Saturday against Carolina, he gave everyone the first real glimpse of what the 22-year-old is capable of at his new, slimmed-down weight in his second professional season, now as the starting nose tackle in Leonhard’s scheme.
This Bills squad is coming out swinging, showing early they’re ready to push the envelope. The legitimate versatility in that back seven, what an exciting preview of what’s to come for this team this season!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Buffalo Rumblings.
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