Dan Morgan could have hand-waved away Saturday’s putrid performance as a preseason game that doesn’t really matter anyway. But the Carolina Panthers general manager wasn’t going there.“The preseason games, it’s a game setting. You should be competing at the highest level,” Morgan said during the third quarter on the Panthers’ TV broadcast. “I think the games matter a lot, and hopefully, we perform better next week.”There wasn’t much to like in the Panthers’ 29-14 loss to the Buffalo Bills, who broke in their $2.1 billion Highmark Stadium by beating up on the visitors on both sides of the ball. As exciting as the Panthers’ 33-30 victory in the Hall of Fame Game was, this one was just bad August football for coach Dave Canales’ team.Top Plays from Panthers @ BillsCanales said he hoped to get “20-ish reps” for quarterback Bryce Young and the first-team offense. But he also had a three-series cap for Young, which the Panthers hit by going 3-and-out each of their first three series. Backup QB Kenny Pickett (16 of 19 passing for 92 yards and a touchdown) played well. But the defense had no luck slowing down Josh Allen or the two backup Bills quarterbacks who followed him.Panthers running back Jonathon Brooks had four touches, including a 9-yard reception, in his first action in 20 months following a second ACL surgery on his right knee. Canales said he got emotional talking to Brooks on the sideline about what he’d endured to get back on the field.The Panthers won’t have much time to make corrections: They’re scheduled to practice Monday before heading to Jacksonville, where they’ll conduct a joint practice with the Jaguars ahead of the teams’ preseason game two night later.“Against the Jaguars, against Houston (which will practice vs. Carolina the following week), we’re gonna be able to do our stuff against really good defenses,” Morgan said. “I think it’ll be really good tests for us to show us where we’re at.”Let’s take a look at the winners and losers from Saturday’s preseason game:Stock upFirst-team edge rushersAfter Allen opened the game with a pair of 20-plus-yard passes, the Panthers’ pass rushers got home to limit the damage. Princely Umanmielen beat tackle Dion Dawkins (who looked like he was expecting a running back chip) around the edge to force Allen into the hands of Jaelan Phillips for a sack on second down. Phillips was also in the backfield on third down. And while the $120 million man couldn’t wrestle Allen to the ground, he forced an incompletion and made the Bills settle for a field goal. Canales said Umanmielen made a “huge improvement” from the first preseason game.Second-team edge rusher Cam GillGill showed the pass-rushing form that helped him become the UFL’s Defensive MVP this year when he set a league record with 10 sacks. On the Bills’ third offensive series, Gill sacked former Panthers quarterback Kyle Allen and pressured him on another play.