Surprised the winless Panthers are road favorites against the Bills? Don't be. The Bills already have been hit hard by injuries particularly at quarterback, linebacker and safety.

Things are so grim for the Bills on the injury front that Buffalo coach Sean McDermott won't play a single starter against Carolina. Panthers coach Dave Canales, by contrast, is ready to look at some of his projected starters after holding them out during the first two games of preseason.

Quarterback rotation and motivation are two huge keys in preseason. The Panthers hold a strong QB edge and first-year head coach Canales has incentive to get his young team a victory after two straight defeats.

Buffalo has scored 15 points in its two preseason games. The Bills have been outscored, 36-15. The quarterback situation for this game is desperate for the Bills. Josh Allen, of course, isn't playing. But also out for Buffalo are second-string quarterback Mitchell Trubisky with a knee injury and third-stringer Shane Buechele with a neck injury.

So what's left for McDermott to do? He found Ben DiNucci fresh off the golf course last week. DiNucci isn't even practice squad material and now McDermott has to find another body from the street who at least knows how to hand the ball off.

The Panthers' quarterbacks are Bryce Young, who is anxious to improve on a poor rookie season, veteran backup Andy Dalton and third-stringer Jack Plummer.

The Bills at least know who their starters are going to be. The Panthers have lots of roster spots open. They've had competitive practices and their players should compete hard in this matchup, which is meaningful to them and meaningless to the Bills and the rest of the world.