The Buffalo Bills ended their 2024 NFL preseason with a 31-26 loss to the Carolina Panthers.
The Bills rested all of their regular players for the final preseason game to give their backups plenty of room to maneuver as lineup decisions are due next week.
Here’s what we learned from the season finale:
1 – DiNucci leads Buffalo’s first TD drive of the preseason
For nearly 10 quarters in the preseason, the Bills finally found the end zone. Quarterback Ben DiNucci, who had only joined the team less than two weeks ago, was the one who kicked off the scoring drive, leading the Bills on a six-play, 61-yard run that culminated in an 18-yard touchdown pass to running back Darrynton Evans in the second quarter.
DiNucci started the series with a nine-yard pass to wide receiver Deon Cain, then running back Frank Gore Jr. got the Bills into Carolina territory with a 17-yard gain. Cain picked up another 12 yards on a pass reception from DiNucci and Gore picked up another five to get the ball into the red zone.
On third and fifth attempts, running back Darryton Evans ran a route out of the backfield and DiNucci found the running back in open space, where Evans caught the ball on the run, outsmarted a tackler and danced into the end zone to score.
