CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- The Buffalo Bills had just humbled the Carolina Panthers on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium when Panthers defensive lineman A'Shawn Robinson approached Bills left tackle Dion Dawkins on the field. Dawkins was prepared to shake hands, but before that happened the two were in each other's face like heavyweight boxers before a fight, spouting words that led to pushing and shoving.
It could have gotten worse had coaches and teammates not separated them.
Asked later by ESPN's Kimberly Martin what it was all about, Dawkins deadpanned: "40-9.''
Crazy scene at the end of Bills-Panthers ...
— Kimberley A. Martin (@ByKimberleyA) October 26, 2025
Talked to Dion Dawkins on the field, asked him why emotions were so high between him and A'Shawn Robinson.
Dawkins looked up at the scoreboard and said: "40-9." Said he was trying to shake hands postgame and then ... chaos pic.twitter.com/O7A1Tf009O
"A lot of frustration along the sideline,'' Carolina coach Dave Canales said in reference to another outburst by rookie edge rusher Princely Umanmielen, who reportedly threw his helmet at the stadium wall. "My message to the group is this is one game. The explosives [big plays], how well we've been playing the run, that didn't happen today.''
It was one only one game, but it was a chance for Carolina to make a statement even with starting quarterback Bryce Young sidelined with a high ankle sprain.
The Panthers (4-4) had won three straight to get above .500 this late in the season for the first time since 2019. The Bills (5-2) had lost two straight coming out of their bye week.
The teams were separated by only half a game before kickoff, but the way Buffalo manhandled Carolina in every aspect showed just how big the gap really is from being a competitive team and a playoff team.
The gap was most obvious on defense. Carolina gave up 216 yards rushing to James Cook III, the most to a back in team history, and he did it in three quarters. More telling, 168 of those yards came before contact.
This against a defense ranked ninth against the run entering the day, allowing 92.6 yards a game. Carolina had allowed only 131 rushing yards total over the last three games in wins against the Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys and New York Jets, with none of those teams getting more than 83 yards.
But Carolina showed no discipline, giving up big runs like it did a year ago when it had the worst defense in the NFL. Cook had touchdown runs of 54 and 21 yards on which he wasn't touched. Wide receiver Khalil Shakir turned a short reception into a 54-yard touchdown on which he was untouched.
Veteran Andy Dalton and the offense were a disaster. The almost 38-year-old quarterback was sacked seven times and committed three turnovers, an interception by edge rusher AJ Epenesa returned to the Carolina 1, and two lost fumbles.
One of the sacks came at the end of the first half with Carolina trailing 19-3 after having first-and-goal from the Buffalo 9. It happened with only seconds left in the half and rushed rookie kicker Ryan Fitzgerald into a missed a 32-yard field goal as the clock expired.
"I didn't give this team a chance,'' said Dalton, who completed only 8 of 14 passes for 100 yards and a passer rating of 49.7.
Nobody did.
It's yet to be determined whether Young will return for next week's game at Green Bay. But even if he's ready, he'll do so with a makeshift offensive line that lost right guard Brady Christensen to an Achilles injury and could be without right tackle Taylor Moton (knee) and center Cade Mays (ankle).
Christensen already was replacing starter Robert Hunt (torn biceps), and Mays began the season as Austin Corbett's backup. He was playing so well that Corbett was relegated to a sixth man after returning from a knee injury.
So Young will have to be able to handle a full load of rollouts and scramble on his right ankle as he often does to help protection.
Dalton admitted going in he can't do as much with his feet as the top pick of the 2023 draft, and Buffalo seemed to take advantage of that with its pressures.
"I wouldn't blame it all on Andy,'' tight end Tommy Tremble said. "It's something collectively as an offense. We should have been able to go out there and execute.''
It didn't help that Carolina's third-ranked rush offense, averaging just over 140 yards a game, rushed for only 79 yards against the league's 31st-ranked run defense.
In many ways, Sunday felt like Carolina was exposed for what it really is against top teams. The Panthers still haven't beaten an opponent with a winning record entering Sunday.
That made Sunday against the Bills a measuring stick for what three straight wins really meant.
"We didn't play anywhere near the type of football that we know we're capable of playing,'' said Dalton, more down on himself than normal. "So yeah, you can say it's a measuring stick, but at the end of the day we didn't even give ourselves a chance.''