Carolina Panthers vs. Buffalo Bills - Recap, Takeaways and More

The Carolina Panthers fell to the Buffalo Bills, 20-18, in their first preseason game on Friday night.

Cam Newton did not play as he continued to rest his ankle that he had surgery on this past offseason. Backup quarterbacks Derek Anderson and Joe Webb played well. Matt Blanchard did not, but we'll get to that later.

Rookie wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin gave Panthers fans hope for the future with his incredible catch in the second quarter.

Benjamin raced down the sideline as Anderson lobbed the ball to him. After making contact with Buffalo cornerback Stephon Gilmore, Benjamin tripped and stumbled, nearly falling, but was able to gather his footing just enough to dive and catch the ball in the end zone for a touchdown. Many people called it the play of the game.

The Panthers' front seven on defense performed well as usual, but the secondary, as well as the offensive line, struggled. Those two groups are Carolina's weak points so far, and will have to improve if the team hopes to sustain the success from last season.

Now, let's take a look at some players who impressed, and some who didn't.

PLAYERS WHO IMPRESSED: 

Derek Anderson and Joe Webb - The two backups played well in Cam's place, combining to go for 21-35 with 245 passing yards and 2 touchdowns. Both quarterbacks also did a good job running the ball, as Webb ran 4 times and led the team with 30 rushing yards and Anderson ran twice for 10 yards. Both of Anderson's runs came on third down when the pocket collapsed and he was able to escape and get the first down.

Kelvin Benjamin - The first round draft pick only had one catch, but it was the most impressive of the game. Benjamin did a great job getting past the corner on the play and showed off his great hands. Had he not tripped, he probably still would have made the catch. At 6'5", Benjamin will be bigger than many corners covering him. You can't teach size.

Tavarres King - The young wide receiver played exceptionally well, hauling in 4 receptions for 50 yards. He also had one long catch in the third quarter, but it was called back due to a holding penalty on an offensive lineman. Nobody expected this Panthers receiving core to be any good, but King and Benjamin are doing their best to prove the doubters wrong.

Brandon Williams - The backup tight end had 3 receptions and 50 yards, along with a touchdown in the fourth quarter. If he continues to play the way he did Friday night, he could be a great backup to Greg Olsen. Cam Newton did well his rookie season in two-tight end sets with Olsen and Jeremy Shockey, and the Panthers could go back to more two-tight end sets this season with Williams opposite of Olsen.

Kony Ealy - The second round draft pick had 3 tackles, one in the backfield. After starting out slow, Ealy showed why the Panthers drafted him to begin with: his explosive first step off the line caused him to generate pressure in the backfield, nearly getting to the quarterback and helping shut down the run game. If Greg Hardy is gone after this season, Ealy will be a good player to take his place. And having a season backing up "The Kraken" and Charles Johnson, two of the best defensive ends in the game, will help mold Ealy into a dominant defender.

Chase Blackburn - Playing with Thomas Davis and Luke Kuechly would make any linebacker stand out, but Blackburn played without either and still performed well. He also had 3 tackles and one in the backfield like Ealy. He was able to get to the ball quickly and stuff the running backs.

PLAYERS WHO DISAPPOINTED:

Offensive Line - Towards the beginning of the game, the line did well with Derek Anderson as the quarterback... then things went south quickly. The line couldn't protect Matt Blanchard or Joe Webb, and couldn't help get the run game going at all. They couldn't open up gaps for the running backs or keep the pressure off the quarterbacks. At one point, every starter but Ryan Kalil returned, but the line did not improve. If these linemen don't improve, Cam will be running for his life this season.

Matt Blanchard - The backup quarterback will probably not make the final 53 man roster if he can't improve. He only completed one pass, and threw an interception that was miles away from any Carolina receiver. He was also sacked twice.

Running Backs - Kenjon Barner and Darrin Reaves took to the backfield to prove themselves. They failed. Unable to get anything going besides one goal line touchdown by Reaves, the backs combined to get 27 rushing yards on 16 carries. Backup QB Joe Webb had more yards than that. The blame does not solely fall on them, as the offensive line was no help. However, both backs performed poorly. Hopefully, the Carolina running backs will perform better than this, because Cam cannot carry the load on offense.

Brenton Bersin and Tiquan Underwood - Two receivers who many thought could make a difference on this team failed to do so. Bersin had only one catch for 19 yards and Underwood did not have a single catch. Bersin may not make the final roster if he doesn't step it up. Underwood will probably still make it, but he'll need to step up as well.

Secondary - All night, the Panthers secondary was burned. Unable to stay with receivers step for step, unable to give help, unable to play zone well, and unable to impress. Cornerback Josh Norman did have an interception in the end zone, but nearly got in a few fights, and that kind of player is not the kind that any team needs. This secondary has to help the front seven if the Panthers want to return to the playoffs this season.

We'll end this column with a quick note: the NFL is experimenting with extra points this preseason by moving them back to the 20 yard line. Carolina backup kicker Jordan Gay missed an extra point in the second quarter after Kelvin Benjamin's touchdown.

Carolina's next game is next Sunday, August 17th at 8:00 pm in Carolina. They will play the Kansas City Chiefs.