CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Halloween came early on Sunday at Bank of America Stadium, as turnovers and a terrible run defense haunted the Panthers in a 40-9 blowout loss to the Buffalo Bills (5-2). The frightening performance by Carolina (4-4) resulted in a scary stop to their three-game winning streak, which began in Week 5 on Mint Street.

Without starting quarterback Bryce Young (ankle), Carolina looked overmatched by the Bills in the 31-point shellacking at home. Veteran backup Andy Dalton turned the ball over three times, and routinely put Carolina in tough spots. He objectively failed to take advantage of an opportunity to help the team in relief of Young, who had led Carolina to a trio of wins before sustaining an ankle injury in a 13-6 victory over the New York Jets.

While Dalton was inept in his fill-in duty, the Panthers’ defense also crumbled, especially against the run. Pro Bowl running back James Cook ran for an eye-popping 216 yards and two touchdowns in just three quarters against Carolina’s defense. That awesome effort by Cook enabled Bills QB Josh Allen to take it easy throughout much of the afternoon. Both Cook and Allen were pulled before the first possession of the fourth quarter with Buffalo up by 31 points.

Allen threw for just 163 passing yards and a touchdown in the blowout win. He picked up a pair of goal-line touchdowns as well.

Dalton’s on-field implosion is likely to have Panthers fans yearning for Young’s return and for good reason. With the Packers in Green Bay on deck, coach Dave Canales will need to think long and hard about the immediate future of his most important position.

Here are five takeaways from the blowout loss:

Dalton brutally squanders his chance to make a difference

Dalton turned the ball over twice in the first half, and both giveaways led to points. Similarly to Young in Week 2 against Arizona, Dalton’s giveaways put the Panthers in a bind early. The veteran QB was forced to lead the Panthers back from a 19-3 deficit to end the second quarter.

In the first half, Dalton — who fumbled away a poor scramble attempt in the red zone in first quarter — completed 8 of 14 passes for 100 yards and an interception. His first-half passer rating was 49.7.

While he showed great chemistry with Tetairoa McMillan, who caught 4 of 6 targets for 63 yards in the first half, the 37-year-old gunslinger failed to move the ball consistently because of the two turnovers and a few off-the-mark tosses. He also looked lethargic in the pocket, as Bills defenders pounced on him with ease.

Dalton’s second-quarter interception was thrown right at Bills pass rusher A.J. Epenesa, who returned the ball to the Carolina 1-yard line. Buffalo scored on a rush on the next play.

So, Dalton essentially wiped points off the board with his fumble in the red zone and then handed the Bills a touchdown with an interception. He also took a sack on third down with no timeouts left at the end of the second quarter, which led to a hurried and missed 32-yard field goal attempt by Ryan Fitzgerald.

Dalton essentially dug the Panthers’ massive hole by himself with his bare hands.

Dalton didn’t enter the third quarter until the Panthers trailed, 26-3. He was never able to recover from the early gaffes. He also fumbled away another possession in the third quarter.

It was an overwhelmingly brutal performance for Dalton. He looked immobile in the pocket, and his decision-making left a ton to be desired. And while Dalton is one of the most productive passers of his generation, this performance on Sunday is likely to give the Panthers pause when they consider their options for Week 9 at quarterback.

Could Young come back quickly from injury and elevate the offensive performance against the Packers? And if not, should the Panthers turn to practice-squad passers, Hendon Hooker or Mike White? It’d be hard to blame Canales for answering yes to either question.

Dalton completed 16 of 24 passes for 175 yards and an interception in the game. He had three turnovers and was sacked seven times.

Bills cook Panthers’ run defense

The Panthers had been on a roll against the run during their three-game winning streak. Carolina had held Miami (Week 5) and Dallas (Week 6) to 19 and 31 rushing yards, respectively, in the two previous home games. Against the Jets, the Panthers held Breece Hall and company to 81 rushing yards.

But against Buffalo, Cook ran all over the home defense for 153 rushing yards (12.8 yards per carry) and a touchdown in the first half. To put that into perspective, the Atlanta Falcons picked up 131 rushing yards in their 30-0 loss to the Panthers in Week 3. Dallas and Miami combined for 50 total rushing yards. Cook squashed all three previous visiting team totals with 7:23 left in the first half.

Ejiro Evero’s defense, which had really rebounded from a historically bad performance last season, was outschemed and overpowered, even with Allen having a relatively pedestrian game (12 of 19 for 163 yards and a touchdown).

Cook kept his foot on the gas in the second half, producing another 63 rushing yards and a touchdown in the final two quarters. He finished with 216 rushing yards and two touchdowns. He was pulled during the final 10 minutes of the game with Buffalo leading by 31 points.

Cook now holds the record for most rushing yards against the Panthers in a single game. The Bills picked up 245 total rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns in the game.

The Panthers entered Week 8 allowing just 92.8 rushing yards per game.

Running game continues to look awkward with timeshare

Rico Dowdle and Chuba Hubbard don’t look comfortable exchanging series. There is no momentum or rhyme to the reasoning of giving the co-starters alternating drives.

In the first half, Hubbard picked up 17 yards on seven carries. He had a big gain called back with a holding penalty, but other than that jaunt in the red zone, Hubbard looked listless in the first two quarters. Dowdle, conversely, continued to chug along with 52 rushing yards on seven carries. Moving guys on and off the field delayed Dowdle’s impact and stifled Hubbard’s opportunity for beat-by-beat momentum.

With the game largely out of hand in the second half, Dowdle and Hubbard were neutralized even further. The duo finished with just 88 combined rushing yards and a touchdown on the day.

The timeshare wasn’t the reason the Panthers got blown out. But it’s time to reconfigure how Canales manages the duo on a drive-to-drive clip. This approach isn’t helping anyone.

More OL juggling becomes even more brutal

Center Cade Mays (ankle) and right tackle Taylor Moton (knee) were injured during the second quarter of the loss. They were replaced by Austin Corbett and Yosh Nijman, respectively. In the fourth quarter, right guard Brady Christensen (ankle) was also carted off the field.

The Panthers had six different starting combinations in their first eight games. If Mays, Christensen, and/or Moton were to be sidelined in Week 9, that combination total could rise to seven in nine games.

Moton was immediately ruled out with his knee injury, which typically implies a notable ailment. Mays rode a stationary bike in the second half, but he never returned to the game. Christensen’s cart ride wasn’t particularly encouraging either.

Corbett and Nijman both have plenty of experience at center and right tackle. But obviously, Mays and Moton have been very dependable this season. It’s hard to look at either potential loss without wincing over downgraded replacements.

Christensen has been awesome in his fill-in duty for Robert Hunt. His replacement, Jake Curhan, is a journeyman at best.

Alas, in Carolina, when it rains, it pours.

If there was a bright spot, it was McMillan

There was little to smile about on Sunday for Panthers fans. But if you’re searching for truffles in the muck, McMillan had himself a nice individual performance.

With the passing game in shambles, McMillan still managed to secure seven catches for 99 yards. Again, this is sunshine nitpicking at its finest, but at least the first-round pick continues to show he’s an NFL-caliber No. 1 wideout.

Hopefully, he can continue this momentum with whomever plays QB in Green Bay.

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