The Bills edge rusher finished the day with five defensive stops, which led Buffalo’s defense. Olsen hasn’t helped much in 2017, but he led the Panthers in receiving yards each of the past in each of the past three seasons (going over 1,000 yards in the past three), as Cam Newton’s most reliable target.
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Panthers coach Ron Rivera said Peppers was simply awesome and is turning out to be a great fit in Carolina with three sacks in two games.
All in all, the Panthers looked good in their first game of the 2017 season. “We all do. But, hey, that’s on me”.
That’s high praise from the nine-time Pro Bowl selection and future Hall of Famer.
Last season, he appeared in all 16 regular-season games in what would become his sixth go-round as a member of the Panthers.
Shortly after exiting the game due to injury, Panthers tight end Greg Olsen returned to the sideline on crutches and wearing a walking boot.
At least the Chargers (0-2) and quarterback Philip Rivers still know how to get the ball into the hands of tight end Antonio Gates. Give the Bills’ defense plenty of credit for that.
They also rank among the top 10 in rush defense (60 ypg), sacks (7) and pass defense (136.5 ypg). Two of his scrambles did result in first downs. He was targeted just once in the opener against the 49ers and three times against the Bills.
For the Panthers, it begins with stopping the run. The Panthers’ line held Buffalo to 69 net rushing yards for an average of 3 yards per rush, and hassled quarterback Tyrod Taylor often.
Buffalo will host Denver next Sunday.
Newton, who twisted his ankle in the third quarter but stayed in the game, said he can’t afford to “miss layups”.
This could be an interesting week of practice for Carolina, which will prepare to play the worst defense in the league.
“The expectations that I have for myself, missing layups like that, it’s uncalled for”, Newton said. “I feel like the sky is the limit”. His offense didn’t show up Sunday afternoon and it showed on the scoreboard in the Bills’ loss, 9-3.
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Carolina would answer with a 15 play drive that went 75 yards that lasted over eight minutes and ended with another Graham Gano field goal.
