Bills End Preseason Touchdown Drought, Trail Panthers 14-11 At Half

It had been nine quarters of preseason football and the Buffalo Bills offense had yet to score a touchdown.

That drought ended in the first half of the preseason finale against the Carolina Panthers.

Ben DiNucci had a strong first half throwing a second-quarter touchdown, the Bills saw 41 yards on the ground from Frank Gore Jr., but currently trail the Panthers 17-11 going into the half.

Bryce Young, the former first-overall pick in 2023, played in just a single series for Carolina and led the starting offense on a 12-play, 85-yard drive capped off by a touchdown strike to Jordan Matthews.

Following that score, Buffalo connected on 11 straight points including DiNucci's touchdown strike to Darrynton Evans late in the half.

A Mike Boone five-yard touchdown score and a 45-yard field goal from Carolina gave the Panthers a 17-11 lead going into the start of the second half.

While Buffalo's offensive touchdown drought ending is strong, the team averaged just under four yards per pass in the first half but were 5-8 on third down.

Related: Bills Rookie: 'Exciting' But Too 'Up & Down' in Preseason?

The mediocre results overall have most of Buffalo's backups competing for a final roster spot at the last second at the very least. They'll have a half to back into this one.