Three takeaways from Carolina’s loss to Buffalo

Quarterbacks (and pretty much everyone else) struggle

It wasn’t a good sign when Kyle Allen, who impressed at the end of last season and early in camp and Week 1, came out struggling, missing wide open receivers and going just 4-11 for 32 yards. At first, you would’ve thought this would open the door for Will Grier for an opportunity to get a hold on the backup quarterback job, but he then threw an ill-advised pick six in double coverage on just his second throw and didn’t do a whole lot to make up for it.

Taylor Heinicke, who has been seen as the lowest on the totem pole in this competition, actually looked the best of the three last night, going 8/12 for 78 yards and the team’s lone touchdown on a 9-yard strike to former AAF standout Rashad Ross. The team needs more consistency from the quarterbacks throughout the rest of preseason, otherwise Carolina may be forced to add a free agent to that room.

Once again, the offensive line didn’t do the quarterbacks many favors, though. Second round pick Greg Little showed why he has struggled to crack the starting lineup, missing blocks in both the passing a running game at left tackle throughout the game. His teammates in the trenches didn’t fare much better, giving up pressures all night as the Bills combined for three sacks on the game. Barring a drastic improvement from Little, the starting offensive line appears to be set at Daryl Williams, Greg Van Roten, Matt Paradis, Trai Turner and Taylor Moton.

With Kuechly and Thompson out, we saw mixed results from the linebacking corps as well. This group was plagued by missed tackles and blown coverages all night, but did have its moments, with Jermaine Carter bouncing back with a couple of nice open field tackles while sharing the team lead with seven tackles with fellow linebacker Jordan Kunaszyk, while Jared Norris forced a fumble that Andre Smith recovered.