{"id":235487,"date":"2025-10-23T22:44:07","date_gmt":"2025-10-23T22:44:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/235487\/"},"modified":"2025-10-23T22:44:07","modified_gmt":"2025-10-23T22:44:07","slug":"josh-allen-looks-to-extend-perfect-record-after-bye-and-snap-buffalo-bills-two-game-skid-vs-carolina-panthers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/235487\/","title":{"rendered":"Josh Allen looks to extend perfect record after bye and snap Buffalo Bills\u2019 two-game skid vs. Carolina Panthers"},"content":{"rendered":"

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) \u2014 Josh Allen<\/a> will put his 7-0 record following a bye week on the line Sunday when the Buffalo Bills<\/a> visit the surging Carolina Panthers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Allen and the Bills appeared in prime position to gain a stranglehold on the No. 1 seed in the AFC \u2014 and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs \u2014 after racing to a 4-0 start, which including a come-from-behind win over the Baltimore Ravens<\/a> in Week 1.<\/p>\n

But the Bills have suddenly looked average, losing back-to-back games to the New England Patriots<\/a> and Atlanta Falcons<\/a> before the bye.<\/p>\n

Allen said it was difficult to go into the week off on a sour note, but added it has given the Bills time to hit the reset button.<\/p>\n

\u201cListen, we got a lot of work to do,\u201d Allen said. \u201cBut this is a team that has a lot of guys that want to do that work, that care for each other. And we\u2019re just excited for another opportunity this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Panthers (4-3) looked like they might be headed toward an eighth straight season without a trip to the postseason after starting the season 1-3. But they\u2019ve found a running game and have reeled off three straight wins. It\u2019s the first time they have been above .500 this late in the season since starting 5-3 in 2019.<\/p>\n

They are just one game behind the Tampa Bay Buccaneers<\/a> in the NFC South with two games still to play against Baker Mayfield<\/a> and company.<\/p>\n

The Panthers appear focused, even avoiding the traditional time-off rewards that come with \u201cvictory Mondays.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI love that our leadership is focused that way,\u201d Panthers coach Dave Canales said. \u201dThey certainly understand that we haven\u2019t seen our best football. … We\u2019ve seen glimpses of it. We\u2019ve seen excellent play in areas, but there\u2019s so much more out there for us, and we should just continue to be trying to improve our processes all the way through the end of the season.\u201d<\/p>\n

Dalton ready if needed<\/p>\n

Andy Dalton<\/a> could be in line for his seventh start in three seasons with the Panthers. Bryce Young<\/a> is hobbled by an ankle sprain and not practice Wednesday or Thursday after leaving in the second half last week against the New York Jets<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Dalton is 1-5 as a starter for Carolina, but has plenty of experience.<\/p>\n

He is 178-168 as an NFL starting quarterback, having thrown for more than 39.000 yards and 254 touchdowns \u2014 most of that production coming during his nine seasons with the Cincinnati Bengals<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf Andy does have to play, have full confidence being able to just call the game the same way I would normally call it and have the balance and be attacking and aggressive in our spots,\u201d Canales said. \u201dSo he gives us an opportunity to keep pushing our football forward, which I love.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bills reinforcements<\/p>\n

The Bills are in position to have two offseason free-agent additions make their defensive debuts on Sunday. Edge rusher Michael Hoecht<\/a> and tackle Larry Ogunjobi<\/a> both resumed practicing this week after serving their respective six-game NFL suspensions for violating the NFL\u2019s policy on performance enhancers.<\/p>\n

Just don\u2019t consider it the calvary arriving, said Ogunjobi, who\u2019s entering his ninth season.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s just me and Mike coming back, being able to just help how we can,\u201d said Ogunjobi, who spent the previous three years with Pittsburgh. \u201cYou want to rally, you want to get this thing going in the right direction.\u201d<\/p>\n

More pony package?<\/p>\n

The Panthers have found something with their running game over the last three weeks and will look to take advantage of a Buffalo defense that is ranked 31st in the NFL against the rush, allowing an average of 156.3 yards per game.<\/p>\n

Carolina is third in the league in rushing, averaging 140.1 yards per game.<\/p>\n

Canales said the Panthers will continue to employ a two-back system with Chuba Hubbard<\/a> and Rico Dowdle<\/a>. Last week, with Hubbard returning from a calf injury, the Panthers alternated possessions with the two backs.<\/p>\n

The Panthers have even flirted with the idea of using the \u201cpony package\u201d with both Hubbard and Dowdle on the field at the same time.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnytime you get both those backs on the field, it\u2019s a great threat to the defense just as it is with our other personnel,\u201d offensive coordinator Brad Idzik said. <\/p>\n

Shaq is back<\/p>\n

Bills linebacker Shaq Thompson<\/a> is in for a homecoming after spending his first 11 seasons with Carolina. He signed with Buffalo and reunited with coach Sean McDermott, who previously served as the Panthers\u2019 defensive coordinator.<\/p>\n

\u201cA winner. He\u2019s here for a reason,\u201d McDermott said, referring to the 2015 first-round draft pick. \u201cYou could tell right away the impact he made in our locker room, on our team. … And part of it is that they can learn from watching a player like that, how he handles himself on the field and off the field.\u201d<\/p>\n

Signed as a backup, Thompson could have an elevated role given the uncertain status of starters Matt Milano<\/a> (pectoral) and Terrel Bernard<\/a> (ankle).<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP Sports Writer John Wawrow in Orchard Park, New York, contributed to this report.<\/p>\n

___<\/p>\n

AP NFL: https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/nfl<\/p>\n

Steve Reed, The Associated Press<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) \u2014 Josh Allen will put his 7-0 record following a bye week on the line…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":235488,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[436],"tags":[49,48,514,82],"class_list":{"0":"post-235487","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-nfl","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-nfl","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235487","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=235487"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/235487\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/235488"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=235487"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=235487"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=235487"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}