Top 3 Things We Learned

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Top 3 things we learned from Bills vs. Panthers | Preseason Week 1

Aug 15, 2026 at 06:36 PM

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Buffalo Bills vs Carolina Panthers, Preseason, August 15, 2026 at Highmark Stadium.

The Buffalo Bills had a successful preseason debut at the newly-opened Highmark Stadium, beating the Carolina Panthers 29-14.

Buffalo will travel to face Cleveland next weekend, then return home for the preseason finale on Aug. 27 against Pittsburgh.

Here are three things we learned from Bills vs. Panthers

1 — The Josh Allen-DJ Moore connection is as good as advertised

It took just three plays for the Bills to show why they traded for star receiver DJ Moore this offseason.

Buffalo got into Carolina territory on the first play of scrimmage with a 21-yard reception by wide receiver Khalil Shakir. Two plays later Bills QB Josh Allen found a wide-open DJ Moore for a 32-yard gain. Moore was 14 yards from the nearest defender when he caught the pass, according to Next Gen Stats, giving him plenty of room to pick up yards after the catch.

"He's a heck of a football player and we're lucky to have him," Allen said.

In the two series that the starting offense played, Moore was targeted a team-high four times and caught three passes for a team-high 61 yards. Allen shared he's thrilled to have another playmaker at his disposal.

"I'm going to make an assumption that it's going to be awesome to do that every single game to get him involved early and often," Allen explained.

First look at @JoshAllenQB to @idjmoore. 👀

Tune in on CBS pic.twitter.com/OJXW4BsCNO
— Buffalo Bills (@BuffaloBills) August 15, 2026

The Allen-Moore combo has been on display throughout training camp, bringing an explosive element to the Bills offense. Buffalo racked up five plays of more than 10 yards during the two series with the starting unit.

"When everything is firing, that's when we feel like we can be two-dimensional." Allen said.

Allen's day came to a close, along with most of the starting offense, when he got outside the pocket on a first-and-goal play from the Panthers' 9-yard line and found wide receiver Keon Coleman in the back of the end zone for the score. The top unit exited in the first quarter with a 10-0 lead.

2 — Joe Brady reflects as first game as head coach

Not only was Buffalo's performance on the field strong, but head coach Joe Brady was also pleased with how things went behind the scenes, from coaching operations to communication, during his first game at Highmark Stadium.

"It was good. Still figuring out where I want to stand and all that, but I felt like our tempo in and out of the huddle, our communication with the sidelines… I didn't feel like it was any different from the box. I felt good about it."

Not only are the Bills playing in a new stadium this season, but coaching roles are different for several members of the staff. Fine-tuning all the small details in a new environment with new people will be important for the Bills before the home opener.

"Every little detail matters in these moments," Brady said. "I'm sitting there trying to make sure that my communication and the buttons on my headset are exactly how I wanted and there's some things I take note of that I don't like — so everything matters."

Brady even threw the challenge flag for the first time as a head coach, challenging a down-by-contact ruling. At that particular point, Buffalo led 29-7 late in the fourth quarter, so it was mostly just to get a feel for the process — with a little help from QB1.

"I was in his ear telling him to throw the challenge flag, so I'll take that one. That was on me," Josh Allen said with a grin.

3 — Young defenders showing the impact of Buffalo's recent draft investment

The Bills infused their defense with young talent over the last two offseasons, and we're seeing glimpses of just how impactful those picks can be.

Two of Buffalo's four sacks were made by players from the 2025 and 2026 draft classes, with DL Deone Walker taking down Panthers QB Bryce Young in the first half, then OLB TJ Parker getting home against backup QB Kenny Pickett in the second half.

Walker, last year's fourth round pick, also had a tackle for a loss and three tackles on the day. He shared that he's been hard at work in the offseason to build off of a successful rookie year.

"I felt like it was even paying off in training camp," he said. "Just seeing who I was becoming, seeing the type of player I wanted to be, seeing the type of player that I was showing that I could be. So it's fun to see it all."

It's also fun for his head coach to see the progress translate on the field.

"He's so mature. His size and his length and his versatility up front," Brady said of Walker. "Even in a limited role today, you felt him on the football field."

In the third quarter, Parker used his power to overwhelm a tight end blocking him. He shared that "it was amazing" to play in front of Bills fans for the first time.

"Obviously, I have things to improve on," he said. "Gotta go back and watch the tape, see where I can get better at. But it felt good out there to make a couple plays."

Second-year defensive back Jordan Hancock and rookie cornerbacks Kani Walker and Toriano Pride Jr. also had impressive days in the secondary. Hancock and Pride all over the field making tackles. Hancock had four tackles, while Pride, a seventh-round pick, led the team with six.

Walker came through with one of the best defensive plays of the game, intercepting backup QB Kyle Trask in the fourth quarter by expertly reading a screen pass and jumping in front of it behind the line of scrimmage.

"That's a high level play from a guy that's a 'rook' and I'm happy for him," Brady said.

Plenty more rookies had debuts to remember, and Brady was most pleased with the energy and mentality they played with. They're helping build the new DNA of Bills football.

"There's a mentality and the passion of football that we're looking for," Brady said. "We're going to compete in everything we do, and the standard is the standard. I really liked how those guys were playing."