The Bills came into the contest on defense knowing two things — that the Panthers would be starting backup quarterback Andy Dalton, and that if they could curtail the Carolina rushing attack, they’d probably find themselves in some favorable situations to force turnovers. The Bills did that for the most part when the game was still close, pushing the Panthers into several long distances on third downs. The results throughout the day were excellent.
They picked off Dalton once and forced him to fumble twice more, while sacking him six times before the game entered garbage time in the fourth quarter. This is the first complete defensive performance from the Bills this season. They’ve had some segments of games where they play up to their full potential, but usually have had a quarter or two when they’d get gashed by the opponent in critical situations. The team had always hoped they would get to their best version of defensive football by the end of the season, and although this was against a backup quarterback, it will certainly help their confidence moving forward.